A Renewed Hope
by Eri-Tuure
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha are once again fighting. When Inuyasha invites kikyo to join the group it is the last straw. What happens when Kagome falls in love with Sesshoumaru?
1. Fighting Inuyasha, SIT!

**Chapter one**  
**_In the present_**  
Kagome was laying on her bed trying with all her might to get back to sleep. The sun had just come up over the horizon and the birds outside the window would not cease their chattering. Just as she was finally falling asleep once more, Souta, Kagome's younger brother ran into her room and jumped on the bed that still contained the very grumpy girl. Kagome had pretty much given up on the idea of sleep. It was clear that the Kami's were not going to let her stay in bed.

"Get up sis! Inuyasha is downstairs waiting for you!" Souta cried while jumping on his older sister.

Kagome had become irritated with the bouncing child, mumbled something under her breath that her little brother didn't understand and swatted at him with her pillow until he left her alone. 'What is Inuyasha doing here? He said I would have one more day here.' Kagome thought, more than slightly irritated. She crawled to the side of the bed and swung her legs over the edge. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at her alarm clock. 'No wonder it didn't go off, it's only 6:30!' Inuyasha wasn't going to get away with having her woken so early.

Stumbling to her closet, Kagome thought of all the number of times that she was going to sit Inuyasha for this. When she reached in her closet she found that her mother had yet again bought her a new school uniform to replaced the one she had ripped. Some how her mother always knew when she would need a new one. She smiled at the thought that someone was thinking about her even when she wasn't there.

Kagome really wanted a shower but before she had the chance to take one, our favourite silver haired hanyou barged into her room. Kagome was grateful that she had finished dressing before his unwanted entrance.

"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GOT UP! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE SLEEPING ALL DAY! WE'VE GOT JEWEL SHARDS TO FIND!" Inuyasha yelled at Kagome, which came to her as no surprise.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said sweetly, "SIT!"

BAM

"What the hell was that for!", a mumble that was heard from Kagome's carpet.

"THAT was for coming two days early and waking me up at 6:30 in the morning and THIS is for barging into my room without knocking, SIT!"

A smirked crossed Kagome's face as she heard that all too familiar 'Thump' of Inuyasha hitting her floor. She knew that she would have to be careful up here so as not to sit him straight through the floor.

"Now, If you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a shower. If you're lucky, I'll go to the sengoku jidai afterwards with you, even though it is still earlier than I had planned." Kagome laughed as she stepped over Inuyasha's limp, grumbling body. She was trying very hard not to laugh because she knew that he was in pain but the revenge was just too sweet for her.

Kagome felt so much better as she stepped out of the shower. She felt so much cleaner. She still wished to be in bed but her anger towards Inuyasha had subsided. She was anxious, however, to get back to her friends and her adopted son. She quickly dried her hair and put her clothes on before running out of the bathroom to grab some breakfast and go before Inuyasha got to antsy.

To her surprise, when Kagome got downstairs she saw Inuyasha sitting on the couch torturing her poor cat Buyo. He had not noticed that she was there until she cleared her throat, which caused him to jump and dropped the cat, who quickly ran away from his torturer. He quickly glanced at her and looked away with his arms crossed.

"'Bout time, I thought you'd NEVER get out of there!"

"You only say that because you have no patience. Now lets go before you start whining again."

"Feh"

Inuyasha got up from his place on the couch and grabbed Kagome around the waist, causing her to squeal in surprise. He raced towards the well at a inhuman speed. He put Kagome down and waited until she jumped down the well. He didn't feel like falling down the well together this time as it was a tight enough squeeze as it was. She rolled her eyes at his impatience and jumped in. He followed right after her and they were surrounded in a blue light and disappeared.

**_In the feudal era_**

_In the village_

"HENTAI!"

The loud sound of a crash resonated throughout the forest as Sango hit one very lecherous monk over the head with her Hiraikotsu.

"The next time you feel the urge to get so close to me, DON'T!" screamed a furious Sango. She had had enough of Miroku and his wandering hands. Miroku simply made an innocent face and gestured with his hands as if to say that he didn't do anything but Sango knew better.

Shippo was sitting, happily playing with his crayons. This was a regular occurrence between the monk and the demon slayer so he thought nothing of it. He knew Inuyasha had gone to pick up his Okaa chan from her time to he was drawing her a picture. Sitting with him was Lady Kaede. She had seen this before as well and merely rolled her eyes at the two.

_By the Well_

A blue light shot out of the well into the surrounding forest as Kagome and Inuyasha arrived in the feudal era. Kagome tried to find a root to use to climb out of the well but she was quickly picked up by Inuyasha as he jumped from the well, landing just feet away from it on the surface.

"Inuyasha! Why did you come for me so soon! I still had another day you know!" Kagome yelled at Inuyasha, putting her hands on her hips and stomping her left foot.

"Because stupid! I got tired of waiting for you! In case you haven't noticed, WE'VE GOT JEWEL SHARDS TO COLLECT!" Inuyasha snapped back.

"STUPID AM I! SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT SIT!" shouted Kagome, only stopping when she was satisfied with the size of the hole that now held Inuyasha's unconscious body. "Well, I think THAT ought to teach you a lesson or two. I'm going back to the village. I suggest you DON'T try to catch up with me." said Kagome as she walked off in a huff.

As soon as Inuyasha regained consciousness he jumped up to chase after the pissed off miko. Just as he was about to leave the clearing, Kikyo's soul collectors beckoned to him and his thoughts of Kagome were all but forgotten as he followed them deeper into the forest, away from the village.

Kagome had seen them as well and knew where he would be going. This only proved to fuel her anger. 'Inuyasha can be so pigheaded sometimes!' Kagome thought to herself.

Kagome became gradually lost in her thoughts and was startled out of it by the presence of a strong demon nearby.

"Who's there? If you are a demon, show yourself."

Silence.

'I must be going crazy, imagining things. Yup, that's what it is.' Kagome thought to herself and she shook off the feeling and continued to walk. She had hoped the feeling would go away but it seemed to follow her, growing stronger with every step she took. Her nerves were on edge until she heard something rustle the bushes beside her. She yelped from the start it gave her, but being startled was nothing compared to what she felt when she saw who had arrived behind the bushes next to her.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!"

She was terrified but she refused to show it. She knew that if she was being followed by Sesshoumaru her fate was sealed, especially since Inuyasha was not there to protect her, and yet he merely stood there, watching her every move with cold, emotionless eyes. Kagome stood her ground and stared back at him, hard as it was to maintain eye contact with him.

"What do you want with me?" She asked him, blunt as ever.

"Why do you wander these forests alone, Miko? I could have killed you before you even knew I was there and yet you storm away from that half breed and allow yourself to become defenceless, why?" Sesshoumaru asked, getting straight to the point. He never was one to beat around the bush.

"I walk alone because Inuyasha is a jerk, not that it's any of your business. If you don't mind my asking, why are you so curious to find out? Why did you not kill me when you had the chance?" Kagome inquired.

"This Sesshoumaru does not attack an opponent from behind, there is no honour in that. As for why I am asking, that is my own business human."

Kagome intrigued him. She had done so for a long time, though he would never admit it. The way she carried herself was unlike any female he had ever met. Even now as he watched her she seemed different. He could smell her fear yet she refused to show it, causing him to feel a new sort of respect for the miko.

"Why are you really here Sesshoumaru-samma?"

'Interesting, she has figured out that there is an ulterior motive to my presence. She will make a good mate someday. Wait, NO! What am I thinking! She is a human!' Kagome could see the inner turmoil behind Sesshoumaru's eyes and had to concentrate to restrain her laughter.

"I have come because I believe you hold great power. This Sesshoumaru is not one to associate himself with humans but if you desire to be trained to use your miko abilities, you are...welcome to train at my castle. You will be well looked after by my servants and Rin could use a female human to relate to." Said the stoic demon lord.

Kagome was taken aback by his words. She had not thought that he would be offering her anything but death, but here he was, opening the doors of his castle(figuratively speaking) to her.

"I...I'm not sure. Would you allow me one week to decide? I want to ask my friends for their opinions on the matter. Would that be an acceptable answer for now?" Kagome inquired, hoping that he would give her some time to digest the offer being given to her and make a wise decision.

Sesshoumaru seemed to ponder his response a while.

"You have one week. I will come for you in seven days to this date, and I expect an answer. This Sesshoumaru does not like to be kept waiting." Was his reply as he quickly left Kagome standing alone in the forest. She had forgotten all about Inuyasha by the time Sesshoumaru had left her. The only thing she could think about was getting to Sango to get her opinion.

Well, that was the first chapter of my first ever story. If it isn't good and you feel you have wasted your time, i'm terribly sorry and I won't make you read any more of it. However, if you liked it, please review. I'm working on Chapter two as we speak. shouldn't be long before its up:)


	2. Conversations

**CHAPTER 2: Conversations**

By the time Kagome arrived at the village the sun had almost completely set. All that remained were the pinkish hues painted across the horizon. Sango and Miroku were sitting on the entrance way to lady Kaede's hut. Kagome greeted them and entered the hut to place her belongings inside. She found that Shippo was inside playing with one of the toys that Kagome had brought back with her a while ago. Shippo noticed his Okaa chan's entrance and ran to her.

"Okaa chan! You're back! Wait, where is Inuyasha?"

Just the mention of his name made Kagome's blood boil. The full realization of what had just occurred hit her like a brick wall. Shippo watched as her face turned red from anger and slowly backed away. She seemed as though she were about to burst in to flames but surprised Shippo by merely smiling.

"Inuyasha is with Kikyo right now." She said in the calmest voice she could muster up, but Shippo could see in her eyes that behind the anger it hurt her. He could tell that she loved him, but every time he left her for Kikyo it broke her heart a little more. Soon there would be nothing left for him to break and she would never forgive him. He could hear the hurt behind her words. It was obvious even though she was trying so hard to hide it.

Kagome decided that this was an opportune time to leave to be with her own thoughts. Up until this point she had been hiding her true feelings or using distractions to avoid thinking about them. She left the hut and approached Sango outside. Perhaps she could help her sort things out. She always seemed to know how Kagome was feeling anyways.

"Sango, would you like to join me in a bath in the hot springs? I need to speak with you about something." Kagome offered.

"Sure", Sango replied. She turned to Miroku and said in her most threatening voice, "and I find out you were spying on us I'll no more than hit you with my Hiraikotsu, got it?"

Miroku nodded his understanding and settled on the grass to meditate, or at least that's how it appeared to be. It had been enough to convince Sango and Kagome that they were safe from him for the moment. They headed towards the hot springs with their towels and Kagome's shampoo's in hand. They were glad to get away from the boys for a while, especially Sango who had been on her own with them since Kagome had gone home. Between Miroku's groping and Inuyasha constantly beating on an unsuspecting Shippo she had had her fill of them.

They arrived at the hot springs in no time. Kagome was grateful that she had not encountered Inuyasha on the way there. She would not be able to hold her anger back if she had. (Eri: here is it, the first bit of "mature" writing) Kagome stripped off her clothes, exposing herself to the night air. She shivered as the cool night air hit her naked form. She headed straight for the water at the realization of how cold it actually was. Sango set her Hiraikotsu to the side and removed her kimono. She had an easier job of it considering that she did not have to worry about the undergarments that Kagome wore. She followed Kagome into the warm water and they were both pleasantly surprised by the waters temperature. It wasn't too hot, but the cold air had not cooled it off. It was perfect.

"So, Kagome, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Sango asked, breaking the silence.

'Oh boy, here it comes. How do I word this?' Kagome thought to herself. "Well, I've been given an opportunity to train with…. Someone…to strengthen my miko abilities, but it's not exactly someone that has been our friend over the last few years." Kagome thought she was going to explode. It was so hard to word this without giving away who had offered it just yet.

"So I was wondering, what do you think I should do? I have been given one week to make the decision." Kagome finished.

"Hmmm, well…." Sango replied, she seemed to be pondering Kagome's words.

"If this is what you want to do, then I would suggest going for it. Just be careful. Who offered it to you anyways?" Sango asked.

'Crap, I was hoping she wouldn't ask me.' "Um, what would you say if I told you it was….Sesshoumaru?"

Sango's jaw hit the bottom of the hot spring. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It couldn't be Sesshoumaru that offered such a thing. He had to have an ulterior motive.

"SESSHOUMARU! Why would he offer to train you? What's in it for him?" Sango almost yelled at Kagome, her mouth still gaping at her.

Kagome cringed at the volume Sango was speaking with. "Well, you know that little girl that he travels with? Well he needs a female human for her to relate to and to care for her. That is what he requires from me. He has never been one to lie. What do you think?"

Both Kagome and Sango went into deep thought. Neither one had expected that one day they would be considering this. Neither one knew what to say. Kagome was thinking quite carefully about the decision. She believed that Sesshoumaru was telling the truth. He had no need for lies or deception. But if what he was saying was true, then the offer was too good to pass up.

"Inuyasha won't like this." Sango once more broke the silence.

"I quite frankly don't care what he feels about it right now. It's my decision to make, not his." Kagome was being stubborn. She had picked up this habit from being around Inuyasha too much and it was a habit she hoped to break.

Sango agreed that it was her decision. She knew that no matter what Kagome decided Inuyasha would not be happy with her leaving, but he would not be able to sway her.

"Well, I suggest that you consider your options carefully over the next week. Just know that I will back up whichever decision you choose to make. But do be careful and consider the fact that this is SESSHOUMARU we are talking about you leaving with." Sango stated, satisfied with her answer.

Her encouragement had been the answer that Kagome needed. She knew that it would be a hard decision to make but she would have to do it and knowing that the friend she considered to be a sister was going to back her up no matter what.

The girls sat for a little while longer in a comfortable silence. They knew what lay ahead and they were mentally preparing themselves for it. Sango may have to see her best friend leave with a demon who had tried to kill her on several occasions, and Kagome might have to be the one to leave with him. Kagome looked down at her hands and smiled when she saw the wrinkled skin on her fingers. It had been a while since the last time they could relax let alone in a hot spring. This was also a sure sign that they had to get out though.

Kagome walked from the water and as she towel dried her dripping form, Sango followed suite. Once they were dry and clothed they headed back to the village. They didn't say a word to each other the entire walk back. The forest was flooded with the sounds of crickets. The sky was filled with stars which amazed Kagome because she could not see them in her time for all the light pollution. The moon was full and it had never seemed so big to Kagome. It was truly a beautiful night.

When the two arrived at the village they saw a very red faced monk sitting in the grass. Both girls knew exactly why he was blushing and they were furious. Sango, being the one used to abusing Miroku ran at him screaming as Kagome chuckled, he would get what he had coming to him.

Kagome made her way to Kaede's hut and discovered that Shippo had already fallen asleep on the sleeping bag. She picked him up gently and lay him inside the sleeping bag, kissing him on the forehead. She then got in after him and cuddled up to him to make sure that he was warm as he slept. It put a smile on Kagome's face to see him sleeping so soundly and quickly followed him into dreamland.


	3. Forest Fiasco

**Chapter 3: Forest Fiasco**

_With Inuyasha_

The sun was only just coming up over the horizon by the time Inuyasha arrived at the village. The villagers were waking early to tend to the fields and feed their animals. Inuyasha tried to sneak into lady Kaede's hut so that no one would notice that he hadn't come back all night. He got settled down quietly in the hut only to realize that Kagome was missing. Everyone else was sound asleep.

_With Kagome_

Kagome woke up before the suns first rays hit the village. She was tired but she could not fall back to sleep. Inuyasha had not come back yet and she knew exactly where he was. The thought sickened her. She couldn't stay in that room any longer. The missing hanyou was beginning to worry her. She checked to see that her little kitsune was still asleep before attempting the impossible task of getting out of the sleeping bag without waking him. It took a few skillful twists and a couple of close calls, but she finally escaped from the sleeping kitsune.

'Phew! That was close!' thought Kagome. 'I think I'm going to go find Inuyasha, he should have been back by now.' Kagome grabbed her bow and arrows before heading out. Without them she would have been defenseless seeing as she had no idea where Inuyasha was. Right now, the first thing on her mind was to find him. She left the hut and headed straight for the forest of Inuyasha, towards the well where she had last seen him. She had figured it would be smart to start the search where they had parted.

Kagome got halfway to the well before she sensed a jewel shard. It was about a half a mile ahead and moving quickly away from them. If she returned to the village she would lose the shard. She had no choice. She had to try to get it alone. So off she went. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards the shard. She could feel its possessor gaining distance on her and tried to move faster but she got her foot caught on a tree root and fell face first on the forest floor.

Kagome tried to get up but her ankle was broken. Just as she gave up on the jewel shard, she felt it stop, turn around, and head straight towards her. She panicked. If the fall she had lost her weapon. It was about 5 feet out of her reach and she had no way to protect herself. The shard was coming ever closer. Kagome now sensed that it was a demon who carried it. It was coming for Kagome. She tried to squirm for her bow but the moment she moved he foot, an incredible pain surged through her body. She couldn't do it. She just prayed to the Kami's that she would make it out of this alive, although the chances were slim.

Kagome heard the trees rustle only yards away. She knew he was close, but she had no idea how close. Before she had the chance to scream for help she felt herself being picked up off the ground. The demon was 100 feet tall. It was a bear demon. It had black fur and claws that would scare off a dragon. It had Kagome in its massive paw holding her by the waist. Kagome was writhing in agony and screaming with terror. There was no way she would survive this now. Kagome's consciousness was wavering from the pain coursing through her body. The bear was hauling her upwards. Before he could get her to his mouth his arm was disconnected from his body and his body was soon melted to the ground. The last thing Kagome saw before she lost consciousness was a flash of white.

_Back at the village_

The sun had come up entirely and Kagome had still not returned. This worried Inuyasha to no end. She had told no one where she was going and she should have been back by now. Inuyasha was sitting thinking when Shippo stirred and woke from his slumber.

"Inuyasha? Where were you last night? Where is Okaa chan?" Shippo asked sleepily.

"None of YOUR business where I was! As for Kagome, I don't know where she is and I don't care!" Inuyasha retorted.

"Inuyasha! Kagome is missing and you don't care where she is!" Shippo yelled then muttered under his breath, "No wonder she thinks you're a jerk."

Inuyasha had obviously overheard this because he pounded Shippo on the head and left in a huff, leaving a crying Shippo behind. Shippo's cries of anguish woke the rest of the gang. As Sango consolidated Shippo, Miroku and Kaede both noticed Kagome's and Inuyasha's absence. They assumed that they were together so they thought nothing of it.

_Back with Kagome_

Kagome was shrouded in darkness. It felt to her as though she were floating in mid air. She felt so lost. 'Where am I? What am I doing here? What was that white flash?' were the only things Kagome could think. She was getting dizzy.

"Kagome" a soft whisper floated through the vast emptiness that surrounded her.

"Kagome" there it was a again, only it was a little louder.

"Wake up Kagome, Come on"

Kagome's eyes fluttered open. She felt something soft underneath her. It felt warm and cozy. 'Where am I?' Kagome thought. Her eyes were blurry and she felt disoriented.

"You are awake" said a deep voice from beside her. It sounded so familiar but she couldn't make out who it belonged to. Her eyes could not focus on the person but once they did she almost screamed from terror. Her savior had been none other than Sesshoumaru! (Eri: DUN DUN DUN!)

"You, You saved me!" Kagome said nearly yelling at him.

"This Sesshoumaru does not save humans miko. That demon was in my way and I was generous enough to take you into my home so that you would heal. Do not make me regret my decision." Sesshoumaru said coldly.

It was true. Kagome looked around and now that her eyes had come into focus she could see that she was in a very large bedroom. It was elegantly decorated. The bed was dressed in fur blankets. There were many pillows. The room looked to be the master bedroom of the house, most likely Sesshoumaru's room. It appeared to be dark outside.

"Why did you not allow me to die? I am a burden to you now." Kagome stated flatly, subconsciously hoping that he would say that he had desired to protect her but she knew it couldn't be. He hated humans and she was, well, as human as they come. Seeing that he was not going to answer her she turned her back towards him. She was exhausted and hoped to get some sleep while she was comfortable. She knew Sesshoumaru would not try to kill her if he had gone to all the effort to bring her here.

Sesshoumaru saw her turn her back to him and smirked. 'This girl is far too trusting. She turns her back on me even though I could kill her right now if I desired to.' It astounded him to know that someone would do such a thing. 'She either very wise and knows that I would not harm her after trying to bring her here or she is very naïve.' Either way, it had almost caused him to smile. Almost. 'Damn it, what is this girl doing to me! Damn humans.'

"I suggest you get your rest miko. You will be returned to my half brother tomorrow. You only have another 4 days to decide if you will train with me or stay with that half breed." Sesshoumaru nearly spat at the mention of his half brother. Kagome smiled. 'So he wouldn't kill me after all, hmm, interesting…'

"Thank you. Good night Lord Sesshoumaru." Kagome said, interested to see what his reply might be.

Silence, as was to be expected from the stoic demon lord.

Kagome heard the door open and close and she knew she was alone again. 'Wow, he isn't half bad. I suppose his job requires him to be emotionless.' Kagome smiled to herself as she turned onto her other side, facing where Sesshoumaru was once standing. She felt comfortable. She felt happy. She wasn't quite sure why but now she knew that she would enjoy the training Sesshoumaru had to offer if she took it. She liked this place. It was comforting. With those thoughts, she found herself drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

Sesshoumaru closed the door behind him as he left, but he did not leave the door. He listened to Kagome on the other side of the door. He could almost feel her smile. He felt warm. He felt as though there was something about this girl. She was different from any other human he had come across. 'If she wasn't human I would almost consider mating her….What! No!...What is she doing to me! Wretched human!' He cringed at his own thoughts when he heard her sigh and shift in his bed. 'This should definitely prove to be interesting.' He thought to himself and walked away down the long dark hallway of his castle.

Eri: Oh my, whats that i see? is that... sparks! And it's only chapter 3! this should be interesting. grins evilly that was my third chappy! chapter four in the next couple of days! stay tuned! please review!


	4. An Unknown Place

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha but Sesshoumaru's servants are my own.

**Chapter 4: An Unknown Place**

_The Village_

It had been a full day since Kagome had gone missing and the gang was worried. They had decided that they must go looking for her. The got into the forest and Inuyasha caught the strong scent of blood. They raced towards it and found the remnants of a large bear demon.

"Whatever it was that killed this demon, it showed no mercy." Miroku stated wisely as he examined the carcass.

Inuyasha sniffed around for a while. He caught Kagome's scent among the scent of the blood. He couldn't smell any of her blood but he knew she was here. He followed the trail of her scent until it ended. It was then that he picked up the scent of his half brother. This upset Inuyasha greatly. He began to growl at the thought of what his brother wanted from Kagome.

"Kagome was here. So was Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha stated, anger dripping from every word of it.

"Sesshoumaru was here?" Sango asked.

"Yea he was, and he's got Kagome. That bastard! I know exactly where he took her too. They've gone back to his castle." Inuyasha said and looked at the others who were all astonished as he took off towards the west. "Well, are you guys comin or not! We gotta get her back!" he yelled to his oblivious friends as he took off into the forest heading straight for the demon lord's castle.

_Sesshoumaru's castle_

Kagome awoke to pain shooting through her leg. She had forgotten all about it. That fall had done some real damage to her leg. She screamed from the pain and was abruptly halted by one very angry demon lord running into the room and wrapping his hand around her throat.

"You will cease your screams, wretched human, if you value your life!" Sesshoumaru threatened.

"I am sorry Sesshoumaru-samma, I forgot that you have sensitive ears. My leg, it was hurt last night. I think I broke the bone. It hurts very badly." Kagome said in her most apologetic voice.

She truly had forgotten about Sesshoumaru's hearing. She had not meant to scream so loud, but the pain had been too much for her. She study his face, hoping to see some sign of forgiveness in his eyes. She saw no change but she did notice him glance down to her leg. As his hand reached for the hilt of his tensaiga, she squeezed her eyes closed. With one swipe of his sword he healed her leg.

"There, now you have nothing to complain about. You will need a bath before I take you back to the half breed. You will find all you need in that chest over there," he said pointing to a wardrobe in the corner of the room "and I will have a servant show u to the hot springs. Do not take long. We will leave once you are done." Sesshoumaru said before turning and leaving the room. He smiled to himself as he left, being careful that no one would see it.

A bath? He would let her bathe? And what's more he suggested it? Sesshoumaru truly was different from his brother. There was no pain in her leg anymore. Kagome tried to get out of bed and getting to the edge was no problem but the leg gave out the minute she put weight on it. She decided to sit on the edge of the bed for a minute longer to give it some strength when a female demon walked into the room. She had long black hair with gold streaks throughout it. She seemed to be about Kagome's height and stature. She had deep green eyes and two gold stripes, one on each side of her face. She was an inu youkai.

"Milady, are you in need of assistance?" the demoness asked.

"Please, call me Kagome, and I could do with a hand. My leg is not yet strong enough to support my weight." Kagome said with a gentle smile.

"Yes, milady, I mean, Kagome." The demoness said.

"Thank you….." Kagome said as she fumbled for the girls name.

The demoness just smiled and said. "I am terribly sorry, my name is Kiana."

"Kiana" Kagome replied. "Would you please assist me to the hot springs? Lord Sesshoumaru requested that I bathe."

"Of course, milady" Kiana quickly grabbed the things that Kagome would need to bathe with and rushed to Kagome's side to help her up. "There are many stairs we will have to take so I suggest we get going now."

Kagome chuckled at the girl's joke.

"Are you saying I'm going too slow for you?" Kagome joked, causing both girls to laugh as they headed down to the hot springs together.

_In the forest_

Inuyasha ran as fast as he could. Miroku, Sango and Shippo took to the skies on Kirara's back. They didn't like the thought that Sesshoumaru had Kagome. It especially didn't sit well with Inuyasha.

'if that bastard lays one finger on my Kagome, I'll rip his throat out and hand it to him.' Inuyasha thought to himself and growled as he pushed his legs harder to go faster. They had now entered Sesshoumaru's territory. The territory seemed so familiar to him since this was where he grew up. He knew exactly where he was going. The castle was once his fathers. His mother had raised him until he was three in the castle, before Sesshoumaru threw them out because he would not behave.

_With Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru had gone to his study after leaving Kagome. It was one of the only places around his castle he could relax in. The other place was his bedroom which was now completely filled with Kagome's scent, which would not help him think. He did not understand his own actions. 'Why did I bring her here? I should have just let her die. But Rin likes her. I like her. No I don't! She is a human.' Sesshoumaru growled at himself. His thoughts were getting the better of him. He sighed heavily and left the room. It was time to find Kagome. He could sense his brother nearing the castle and he preferred that he kept his distance. He picked up her scent in the hallway. She had left the hot springs. Her scent grew strongest at the door to his room.

"Miko" he called, emotionless as ever

"Yes milord?" she answered from behind the closed doors.

"We are leaving. Get ready. I will be waiting at the entrance to the castle. Kiana will show you there." Sesshoumaru stated, before turning and walking down the hallway.

Kagome had already gotten dressed, but her hair was in desperate need of a brushing. She quickly combed all the knots out of it. The fine details would have to wait. She grabbed her backpack and bolted for the door. Her leg had finally recovered its strength enough to move her body. She opened the door and bumped into Kiana.

"I'm so sorry milady!" Kiana said, bowing .

"Please, don't apologize to me for something I did. And I've already told you to call me Kagome." She said with a smile. She liked Kiana. She was nice. "Unfortunately we don't have time for small talk. Can you please show me to the castle gates? Lord Sesshoumaru is waiting for me there."

Kiana smiled and nodded. She was happy to show Kagome around. She was the only person around here to treat her with much respect. Even the other servants were jealous of her because Lord Sesshoumaru was using her to tend to Kagome's needs. She was his special guest.

It was taking quite a while to get to the gates. Kagome had no idea how big this place was. 'Sesshoumaru must be more important than I thought' she thought to herself, not daring to say it aloud. They rounded a corner into a long hallway. The walls were lined with paintings of demons. One side male, one side female. Kagome only assumed that they were the previous lord's and ladies of the castle. Kagome at the end of the hallway was the castle gates. Kagome took a glance at each of the pictures until she saw one that was labeled "InuTaisho, great dog demon". She stopped to look at this one. It was Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father. They bore a striking resemblance to him.

"That is my father." Said a deep voice behind her, startling her.

"Yes, I recognized the name. You look very much like him." Kagome said bluntly.

Silence.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Mmhmm, lets go" Kagome answered in her usual cheery voice, causing Sesshoumaru to smirk as he walked for the exit.

"Follow me then. He is close." Sesshoumaru stated, walking away from her.

Kagome jogged to catch up to him. It took two of her steps to fill one step his long legs took. They walked off into the forest as the castle servants had gathered at the gate.

"There they go, do you think he'll bring her back again?" said one.

"I would not doubt it for a minute. She'll be back."

Just then Rin ran to the gates and out them after Sesshoumaru and Kagome. She wanted to play with someone other than Jaken. Torturing the toad was fun but she wanted a new friend now. She had seen Kagome with Sesshoumaru and ran to see her.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Lord Sesshoumaru! I am coming with you!" she yelled, with a bright smile on her face. "Kagome! Hi! Wanna play with me? We can pretend to fly together!"

Kagome nearly laughed at how cheery she was. Sesshoumaru must have a great amount of patience to keep her with him. "Sure Rin, I'll play with you, but there is only one rule of the game, we have to keep up with Lord Sesshoumaru, got it?" She answered, smirking in the stoic demons direction. Rin was ecstatic at the thought and agreed eagerly.

"OK! I'll be a little bird, and you get to be a big bird trying to catch the little bird, ok?" Rin suggested.

Kagome laughed, "Ok, You're on. I'll give you ten seconds to get ahead of me. Ready? GO!"

Sesshoumaru was inwardly smirking at the scene being played out in front of him. Kagome would definitely be a good influence on Rin should she choose to train with him. Rin would finally be able to stop torturing his vassal. Yes, this might just work out after all.

Well, there's the fourth chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, and to those that haven't, please do! Next chapter is in the works. Any suggestions, let me know! Thanks again!


	5. Unpleasant Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own the Inuyasha Characters. Just the servants of Lord Fluffy

**Chapter 5: Unpleasant Meetings**

_Kagome and Sesshoumaru_

The day was halfway through when Kagome and Rin had finally stopped there game. Kagome was tired out and Rin had become bored of it. Sesshoumaru was still going at his normal pace. He could smell Inuyasha. The hanyou was close by and Sesshoumaru was getting agitated. He wanted to be away from his half brother as quickly as possible. He noticed that Kagome was now lagging behind. He could smell her sweat and he could almost feel her exhaustion. He was considering stopping, picking her up and carrying her but that would mean that he cared for her.

Kagome was exhausted. She found herself longing for that big bed she had been resting in last night. She knew that she would be sleeping on the ground tonight and that thought did not appeal to her in the least. She began thinking about the reason she was even in that bed last night to begin with. Inuyasha had angered her, worried her, and then not been there to rescue her. 'why do I even WANT to go back? What reason do I have? Inuyasha doesn't love me anyways. He is in love with that dead miko.' Kagome was jogged from her thoughts by running into something hard. She figured it was a true and she kicked it. It was then that she noticed it was Sesshoumaru.

"OH! I'm so sorry milord! I thought you were a tree!" Kagome cried out. She had just kicked the great demon lord of the west!

"Last time I checked, I was not." Sesshoumaru stated in an uninterested voice.

'Wait a minute! Was that a …. Did he just…….JOKE!' Kagome thought almost screaming at herself in her head, giving herself a headache. 'Did Sesshoumaru really just made a joke? Could it be so? Nah!' Kagome thought to herself and began to giggle almost instantly, causing a very strange look from the demon lord.

'She's acting strange? Is it that big a deal that I said that?' Sesshoumaru shook his head almost unnoticeably and walked away again, once more in the direction of the hanyou.

"Why did you stop?" Kagome asked him, rubbing her head.

"Inuyasha is near. He is just beyond the clearing up ahead. I will take you to him, and then I shall take my leave of you." He said. He sounded irritated.

Kagome knew that he wanted noting more than to turn around right now so he would not have to be in the presence of Inuyasha. He could have left right now and Kagome would be fine to make it to Inuyasha on her own now but he still stayed by her side. Even if he was cold hearted, he would make a good trainer. He did not quit at anything, no matter how badly he did not wish to go through with it. Kagome admired him for keeping his word. If there was something that separated him from his brother, it was honor.

Kagome was pulled from her thoughts by a flash of red and the sound of steeling clashing together. Inuyasha had arrived and jumped to conclusions, as usual.

"Sesshoumaru! You're gonna pay for kidnapping Kagome!" he yelled as he charged at the innocent taiyoukai, who easily blocked his attack.

"I have no use for a human half breed. That is why I am returning the wench to you." Sesshoumaru said coolly as he dodged the tetsusaiga easily.

"Ugh! INUYASHA, SIT BOY!" Kagome had lost her patience with him. If this was the only way he would listen to the truth, so be it! "Sesshoumaru didn't kidnap me! I was worried about you when you didn't come back to the village 3 days ago so I went for a walk to try to find you. I sensed a jewel shard and no one else was near by so I went after it myself. I fell and got hurt and the demon carrying the shard came after me. If knocked me unconscious and Sesshoumaru killed the demon and saved me. He gave me time to heal and brought me back to you!" Kagome said, impressed that she had said it all in one breath.

"I told you human, I did not…." Sesshoumaru started to say before he was rudely interrupted by all four of Kagome's friends.

"He did WHAT!" they all screamed at once. They were in absolute disbelief that this could happen. Inuyasha was especially surprised and nearly fell to the ground at the thought of his older half brothers actions.

Sesshoumaru silenced himself. This human was standing up for him? He did not need it but he was grateful the he stopped his half brother's irritating attempts to kill him. He had never seen someone do this before, not for him unless it was out of the fear of him killing them if they didn't.

"This Sesshoumaru has no reason to stay around any longer. I shall return for you in 4 days and I shall be expecting an answer." Sesshoumaru said before quickly leaving them.

Only Sango knew what he was talking about. The boys just looked at Kagome questioningly. She knew that they were expecting to be told what was going on but she was not quite ready to tell them. She grabbed Sango by the arm and bolted in the opposite direction from which Sesshoumaru had gone, leaving the boys dumb struck.

"Perhaps we should not push them. They will tell us when they are ready." Miroku commented, being his usual wise self.

"Like hell I'll wait! Hey Kagome! Wait up!" Inuyasha yelled as he took off after the girls.

They knew he was coming so they picked up there pace. Kagome was not willing to tell him yet so when he arrived she avoided the question as much as possible and when she couldn't come up with an answer that would change the subject she merely chose to say nothing. Eventually Inuyasha left her in a huff. He gave up, knowing he wasn't going to get any answers out of her today.

By the time they all arrived back at the village it was dark out. The sun had set and all the villagers were settling down for the night. Kagome and Shippo settled into their sleeping bag. Sango laid out a blanket on the floor for her too sleep on, facing Miroku so that she could detect any of his moves during the night before he could touch her. Miroku laid down near Sango, but still out of arms reach. Inuyasha rested against the wall with the tetsusaiga between his crossed legs, the hilt resting against his shoulder. He was not ready to sleep yet. He had far too much on his mind. Kirara was curled up near Sango's head.

Inuyasha was lost in a world of his own thoughts. 'Why would Sesshoumaru save Kagome? What would be in it for him?' He could not figure out why his brother would do such a thing.

Kagome was resting with her eyes shut. She was pretending to sleep so that her friends would believe that she was. She had too much to think about. Would she actually leave Inuyasha and her friends behind to be trained? She knew that Inuyasha did not love her. He had told her so a few months back. It had hurt her deeply but he had promised that he would still protect her, even though there were times that he still compared her to Kikyo. She could not stand that.

Kagome could sense that Inuyasha was not sleeping. He rarely ever did. Whenever he slept, it was only a light sleep. However, that was to be expected when you can hear every little sound in the surrounding mile. Something was different tonight though. She could sense his discomfort. She knew he had more on his mind than what had happened between her and Sesshoumaru. She knew it would have something to do with Kikyo.

Inuyasha was thinking about Kikyo again. He knew he would be meeting with her tonight. He knew that there would be a big decision to make between the two of them, but he wasn't about to expose what that decision would be.

Kagome heard him stir and opened her eyes to see him leaving the hut. She looked out the hut to see what he was doing and saw Kikyo's soul collector's leading him away. She knew what was going on. She knew he was going to be with the dead miko. She knew that she shouldn't feel pain over it because there was no chance of him ever loving her but somehow it broke her heart just a little more as she watched the silver haired hanyou running off into the dark forest.

……………………………………….

Well, there we have it! Chapter 5! And once more, Inuyasha is back with Kikyo leaving Kagome behind to figure out what she is going to do. Keep reading, Chapter 6 should be up tonight


	6. The Big Announcements

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha Characters but I do own Lord Fluffy's servants

**Chapter 6: The Big Announcements**

The sun rose as Inuyasha was making his way back to the village. He and Kikyo had come to a decision last night. He needed to tell the gang, but he wanted to wait until they were a little more awake so that they would not be ready to kill him.

Kagome and Shippo were out getting water from the stream to boil for breakfast. Kagome had noticed Inuyasha's absence when she awoke. She assumed he was still with her, as he had been last time so she would not look for him this time. Her suspicions were affirmed when she saw him strolling out of the forest at the break of daylight. Shippo had woken up when Kagome had stirred from her sleep so he followed her to help make breakfast before the others got up.

"Hey Kagome, what are you doing up so early?" Inuyasha asked, surprised to see anyone was awake.

"I just couldn't sleep any longer. And Shippo woke up with me." Kagome answered, continuing to tend to the fire that was bringing the water to a boil.

"Are the others awake yet?" Inuyasha asked, slightly anxious about what he had to tell them all later on.

"Last time I checked they were still sleeping." Kagome answered, looking up from the fire. "Why do you care?"

'oh crap! I was hoping she wouldn't ask!' Inuyasha thought to himself, but recovered quickly by saying "Because I wanna get going looking for the shards today."

Kagome smiled to herself. She knew there was more to it than that but he wasn't going to tell her so she didn't press the matter. She would find out soon enough. She was too busy worrying about her own decision to make. She only had 3 days now. Only three short days to decide what she was going to do with the next while of her life. Would she train to make herself stronger in her abilities or would she stay with Inuyasha who breaks her heart every other day?

"HENTAI!"

Slap!

"Well, looks like Sango and Miroku are awake" Kagome said with a laugh.

"Miroku will never learn will he?" Inuyasha said with a grunt.

"Ha-ha, I guess not." Replied Kagome, she was now almost bowled over with laughter before she managed to get it under control.

Sango stormed out of the hut. She was quickly followed by an evidently happy Miroku. Kirara strolled out of the hut behind them as though she hadn't seen any of it. It came as no surprise to anyone. They had seen this almost everyday and any day that they had not seen t his happen they had assumed that something was up.

Once breakfast was ready and the food was eaten everyone packed there things to leave. This was a longer process for Kagome because she had so much she had to carry. Inuyasha was already ready to go. He wanted to get this day over with. It wasn't going to be a fun day for any of them.

They began walking and it wasn't very eventful until about noon. They stopped to eat lunch and after his ramen, Inuyasha disappeared for a while. When he didn't come back the gang decided that they would rest for the day. The day had drawn into the evening and Kagome was showing Shippo how to draw a cartoon pig when Inuyasha finally came back. To everyone's surprise he was not alone. He had returned with Kikyo at his side.

'This is it.' Inuyasha thought as he prepared himself for the sitting of a lifetime.

"Guys, we have to talk." Inuyasha said. He was choosing his words carefully which caused everyone to worry.

"Inuyasha, you haven't decided to leave us to go with Kikyo have you?" Asked Miroku eyeing the couple.

"Not exactly." Said Inuyasha, glancing over at Kagome. He knew that she of all of them would dislike this the most.

"Them what's up?" Miroku asked.

"If you'd shut up, I'd tell ya!" Inuyasha blurted out but quickly recovered control of his mouth. "Kikyo and I, we have decided that, um…"

"I am joining your group." Kikyo finished for him.

Everyone's mouths dropped as they looked to Kagome for her reaction. At first glance she appeared to be taking it well, but her eyes gave her away. The contained a mixture of anger and heartbreak. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kikyo could sense the jewel shards as well and now she was joining the group. Kagome would no longer be needed. This hurt her more than words could say. She was more than tempted to sit Inuyasha to the center of the earth, but she held her tongue.

"And the two of you just decided this without asking any of our opinions?" Sango asked, standing in Kagome's place. She saw that she was hurt, but she wasn't saying anything so she was doing it for her.

"Well we knew you wouldn't approve so we decided on our own. She is staying whether you like it or not!" Inuyasha yelled, tensing his body. He was never quite ready for the sits that she gave. He looked at her. He knew she was angry and he knew she was hurt.

Instead of sitting him or yelling at him, she leaned over to Sango and whispered "I've made my decision. I'm going with Sesshoumaru." She rose from her position on the ground and stared at Inuyasha. She didn't say anything to him at all. She just looked at him. This was the last straw. She couldn't stay here any longer.

"Inuyasha, Thank you for making my decision that much easier." She whispered as she walked away into the forest.

Kagome made her way towards the hot springs. She didn't care that she hadn't brought a towel. She needed the warmth that the water provided. She was holding her emotions inside her.

Once she reached the hot springs she striped immediately and slowly submerged herself in the water. She found a spot where she could sit. And settled down, allowing the tears to flow freely down her cheeks. She knew now what she had to do. Since she was no longer needed here and she would have the constant painful reminder of her heartbreak walking next to Inuyasha, she would go with Sesshoumaru when he came. And oh how she couldn't wait for that day to come, but for now she would have to wait it out and hope that she was strong enough to contain her emotions.

_Back with the gang_

Inuyasha had heard what Kagome had whispered to Sango. She was leaving with Sesshoumaru. He had to know why she was going with him. What was the offered he had made her?

"Sango, what choice has Sesshoumaru given Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, almost knocking Sango over with the force in his words.

Sango sighed. She didn't want to be the one that told him but she was now being forced to.

"Sesshoumaru has offered to train Kagome to use her miko powers in exchange for taking care of Rin." Sango said, giving in to what she was being forced to do.

Inuyasha, for once in his life, fell silent. Kagome was going to leave to train with Sesshoumaru and there was nothing he could do about it. To make it worse, it was him who had sealed the deal. His mind was churning over the whole ordeal as he thought to himself 'What have I done?'

…………………………………………..

Awww! So sad! What will happen next? Well, I've pretty much already told you. Stay tuned for the next chapter, won't be long now!

-Eri-


	7. Leaving Day Arrives

Disclaimer: I don't own the Inuyasha Characters, just Sesshoumaru's servants

**Chapter 7: Leaving Day Arrives**

The next two days were the longest Kagome had ever seen. Seeing Kikyo was like a katana straight through her heart but seeing her with Inuyasha everyday was like a stab through the back into the heart. Kagome did all she could to avoid seeing the two of them. She would wander away from their camps, she would walk ahead of the group when they were on the move, and a good enough distance to not hear them at that.

Sango had been watching Kagome's behaviour as she already knew exactly how Kagome felt. She knew that she loved Inuyasha and that it was tearing her apart to see him with Kikyo. She tried to keep Kagome away from the two. The best thing for a heart break is to be separate from that person for a while and she knew it. She was looking out for her friend.

On the night before Sesshoumaru was coming for Kagome, Sango took her to the hot springs. She wanted one last chance to relax with her best friend before she had to leave. Kagome agreed with out hesitation. She could not wait for the next day to arrive. It was going to be a long night and the wait for Sesshoumaru to show up tomorrow would be more than she could take, but she would wait patiently.

"Kagome, will you really leave us tomorrow?" Sango asked, carefully choosing her words.

"yes" Kagome said immediately before pausing momentarily. "Please don't think that I'm doing this just to leave the group. I do not wish to leave you behind Sango. But I do desire to learn more of how to use my powers and Kikyo can sense the shards so you don't really need me anymore. So I am going with Sesshoumaru. You understand don't you?" Kagome asked, trying to hide the fact that she was also leaving because of her recent heart break.

"Yes, I do understand that Kagome. Are you sure you aren't just leaving because of Kikyo and Inuyasha?" Sango asked.

Kagome smiled and nodded. 'Damn it! How did she know how I felt about Inuyasha?' Kagome thought to herself. 'Oh well. I have never been able to hide that sort of thing from her. I guess it's better that there is someone who understands.'

"It's not the main reason that I am leaving, but I won't deny that it hurts." Kagome stated before sinking into her own thoughts and a comfortable silence between the two girls formed. The were each pondering the next days events. For Kagome she would have to leave all her friends behind, but she would be away from the two love birds. For Sango, she would have to see her best friend leave with someone who has tried to kill her in the past and trust that she would be alright.

The two girls sat in the water, unaware that they were being watched. Their audience seemed to be captivated by the two. Watching their every move, it waited for the girls to emerge from the water. Watching the girls dress and waited ever so patiently for the girls to separate.

Kagome and Sango began walking back to camp. Kagome didn't want to go back. She knew that "they" would be there. She was trying to think of a way to avoid going back to camp when she began falling behind Sango. She was trying to distance herself so that she might make a break into the forest without being noticed. She was about to run from Sango when she felt a hand on her mouth and a strong arm dragging her into the forest. She tried to scream but the hand muffled her voice enough for Sango not to hear.

"Shut up Kagome! I need to talk to you! If I let go of your mouth, do you promise not to scream?" A voice asked from behind her. It was Inuyasha. She knew that voice anywhere. She nodded.

As he let go of her mouth, she turned around to look at him. 'Damn it, why is this so hard?'

"Kagome, Sango told me you are leaving with Sesshoumaru tomorrow." He said with a growl of displeasure at the thought of her leaving with his half brother. "Do you mind telling me why?"

Kagome sighed. She knew she would have to tell him but she was hoping that it wouldn't have to be right now. She couldn't look him in the eyes. The pain was too great. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes as she struggled to find the words to answer him with.

"I….I am leaving with him because he has offered me the training that I need and Kikyo can sense the shards so I am no longer needed here." Kagome answered with a bit of a sting in her voice at the word 'Kikyo'.

Inuyasha fell silent at her words. He knew that she was angry with him. He knew that she wanted to sit him straight through the earth's core. He could also see that she was restraining herself. He hated seeing her like this, and to make it worse, he knew that he was the cause.

"Kagome, I…." Inuyasha began but Kagome quickly cut him off.

"Inuyasha, don't worry about it. I wish you and Kikyo happy shard hunting. I just want you to be happy, even if it isn't with me." Kagome said, the tears now flowing freely, but being hidden by her bangs. She turned from him and headed back to camp, leaving behind a dumbfounded Inuyasha.

Everything was quite when Kagome reached their camp. Everyone was sitting around the fire, Kikyo included. Miroku and Sango sat together. Shippo was sitting by himself and so was Kikyo. Everyone was silent. They all knew what had just happened. Kikyo had informed them when Sango reached the camp and noticed that Kagome was no longer following her. They all agreed that it was best for the two of them to talk this through, so no one went after them.

Kagome noticed the silence and decided to break it.

"At some point during the day tomorrow Sesshoumaru will be coming for me, and I will be leaving with him. Please know that it is not out of a desire to leave you all that I am going." She said this to everyone, but the last comment excluded Kikyo, not that she was willing to say that.

"I go because he has offered to train me to use my miko abilities and you no longer need me as your shard detector now that Kikyo is with you." She finished what she was saying to her friends and headed straight for her sleeping bag.

"Goodnight everyone, I will see you in the morning." She spoke softly to her friends. It had been a long day and it was finally coming to an end. She let one single tear roll from her eyes to the ground by her belongings. She slipped into her sleeping bag and drifted off into a restless sleep.

_The Next Morning_

Kagome woke early in the morning. The sleep she had gotten had not allowed for any rest and she was still exhausted. As she opened her eyes she noticed that Shippo had crawled under her arm while she was asleep and was now resting peacefully. It made her sad to think that this would probably be the last time for a very long time that he would be in her arms. She gave him a gentle squeeze before carefully removing him from her arms, so as not to wake him. She sat up and looked around. The rest of her friends were still asleep.

Kagome was surprised to see Kikyo sleeping on the ground by herself. She looked around to find Inuyasha. He wasn't far away. He was sitting in a tree not 50 feet from their camp. He was wide awake. It appeared as though he had not slept. Kagome decided that she needed to make things right with him before she left with his brother. She walked over to the tree he was standing in. He would not look at her. She knew he was hurt that she was leaving, just as he knew that she was hurt having Kikyo in the group.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked softly.

"What?" Inuyasha replied in a very harsh tone.

"Please do not be angry that I am going with Sesshoumaru. If you were the one who had offered the training, I would have gone with you. Know that you are still my friend. Think of me as a friend on the inside. I can give you all his secrets now." Kagome said full heartedly, the last part was slightly joking though. "Well, maybe not his secrets, but once my training is done I will most likely rejoin with you. Think how much stronger I will become?" Kagome was trying to coax him to speak to her but it was not working.

"Kagome, are you leaving because Kikyo is with me?" he asked. He sounded as though he were about to cry.

At the sound of his voice Kagome's heart melted. He sounded so desperate for her to stay, So pained that she was leaving with his brother. She knew that now was the time to reassure him, although she had no clue what to say.

"I will not lie to you Inuyasha. It isn't exactly making me want to stay having her here. But she is not the main reason." Kagome answered. She was trying to express to him that yes she was hurt by this, but she was not leaving simply because of it.

"I am leaving mostly because I desire to be trained, but it has definitely made it easier for me to decide to leave." She finished, satisfied that the words she had chosen were the best she could find. She was about to walk away when Inuyasha jumped down from the tree and wrapped his arms around her.

"Kagome, no matter what, I will protect you. If he hurts you in any way, try to get away. I will find a way to get to you. Please, promise me this." Inuyasha whispered into her ear.

"Inuyasha……" Kagome stuttered before giving in. "Mmhmm, I promise." She nodded into his shoulder as he held her.

Inuyasha let her go and looked at her, satisfied now that she would still allow him to protect her.

"Kagome" he said as she started to walk away.

She turned around and answered him. "Yes?"

"When you get stronger and come back, try not to purify me." He joked.

Kagome chuckled at his words and smiled at him as she walked away. 'Yes, things might just be ok between us in the end.' She thought to herself as she headed down to the stream, pot in hand, to get water to boil for breakfast.

By the time she returned to the camp everyone else was awake and Miroku had started a fire to boil the water on. Kagome inwardly smiled at the thought that he would do that.

It was Kagome's last day with them and they had no idea what time Sesshoumaru would come for her. They were doing what they could to make her last day with them great. She was going to leave to be with someone who had tried to kill her in the past and they were not quite sure what his plan was, however Sesshoumaru was an honorable demon. He was never one to lie or go against his words. They all just hoped that this wasn't the one time that he would.

Kagome was grateful that they were doing so much for her today. She knew that they were trying to make her last day with them a great one. She was just trying not to seem emotional. She was very nervous about going with Sesshoumaru, though she trusted him because he had never lied before.

The one thing that was plaguing her mind the most was Shippo. She couldn't just leave him behind to be beaten by Inuyasha but she was unsure of whether or not Sesshoumaru would allow him to come along. She was worried for his safety. She made a decision in the back of her mind that she was going to try to convince Sesshoumaru that bringing him along would be a wise decision.

The tension between everyone was thick as they waited for Sesshoumaru to show up. It was taking a very long time.

'Where is he? He said he was coming today.' Kagome thought to herself. 'Oh well, I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait for his arrival, no matter how long it takes.'

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Wow, that one was long. Sorry it took so long to write. It's long and I got writers block at the beginning. Well, please review and tell me whatcha think!


	8. The Long Awaited Arrival

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, someone else owns the Inuyasha characters. If only I owned Sesshoumaru…..starts daydreaming

**Chapter 8: The Long Awaited Appearance**

The gang was all sitting around waiting for Sesshoumaru's appearance. The sun was beginning to set and there was still no sign of him. Kagome was beginning to wonder if something had happened, but she brushed the thought away. This WAS Sesshoumaru she was thinking of. Surely the demon lord of the west could protect himself. Never the less, Kagome found herself worrying about him, hoping that he was alright. She just hoped that he was still coming for her.

Everyone seemed relaxed except for Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome was anxiously awaiting his arrival. Inuyasha on the other hand seemed hostile as usual. He was not looking forward to his brother's arrival. He was torn between the feeling of wanted to get it over with and the desire to not see Kagome go at all. He was sitting with his back up against a tree, tetsusaiga resting between his legs. He was ready to fight for her if he had to. He would protect her at all costs. He had promised her that much.

The afternoon was fading into the evening. The sun was fully set and the day was over. Kagome had wandered off to sit by the stream alone and was becoming extremely worried. 'Sesshoumaru is not one to lie. Why isn't he here? He couldn't have forgotten.' Kagome was lost in a world of thoughts when the felt someone's presence beside her. She snapped out of it almost immediately. She looked up to see who it was and found it to be Inuyasha. Had he followed her out here? If he did then why did no one try to stop him? Kagome's mind was spinning with questions, but she was grateful for the company. They sat in silence for a while, Kagome wondering if he was ever going to spit out what he came here to say, when he suddenly broke the silence.

"Kagome, Don't worry about it. Maybe he just decided against training you." Inuyasha spat out, almost immediately regretting it. "No, that wouldn't be it. But I'm sure he has a reason for not coming. As much as I can't stand him, He wouldn't lie. He doesn't need to." Inuyasha was much happier with his second statement than with the first, as was Kagome.

"I'm sure he does. I just hope he isn't laying hurt somewhere and no one knows." Kagome softly voicing her concerns.

"Nah, He wouldn't be. If he was ever hurt he'd just fly back to his castle. Don't worry 'bout it. He was probably just detained." Inuyasha replied, calming Kagome's fears.

Kagome pondered over his words as they sat in silence. It made sense, but the one thing that didn't add up was that if he was injured too badly to fly, what would he do? Wouldn't he be incapacitated? She turned to Inuyasha who seemed to be in his own world. She was grateful that he had come to try to make her feel better. He may not love her, but at least she always knew he would be her friend.

"Inuyasha?" She spoke softly, as though she did not want to disturb him.

"Yea.." He replied

"Thanks" She answered with a smile. Inuyasha looked at her like he had no idea what she was talking about, but he knew. He knew all too well.

"Feh, Whatever." Was his answer as he stood up and walked away. "If he comes while you're alone, come back to us and let us know so we don't worry, ok?"

"Inuyasha..." she was temporariily stunned at the fact that he would just say he would worry. "Mmhmm" she said instead with a firm nod, quickly followed by a silver haired hanyou dashing away into the forest, leaving her to stare at the stream alone again.

Alone again, why was this feeling so familiar? 'No Kagome, don't think about that. Not now.' She tried to snap herself out of it. It worked, but she was still unable to shake the feeling that something had happened to Sesshoumaru. She had always had what seemed to be a 6th sense about that kind of thing. Alot of the time it was just a little case of worrying about her friends, but this seemed more alarming to her.

Kagome closed her eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to brush off the feeling, but instead felt herself being pulled to the forested area on her left. She opened her eyes and looked around. Nothing seemed to be amiss there but she couldn't ignore this feeling any longer. She had to go. She picked herself up off the ground and considered going back to the gang and telling them where she was going but she decided against it. If he feelings were correct than she would not have time. She had brought her bow and arrow to the stream with her. She had to be careful. There was no telling when she could have been attacked, especially considering she was carrying the jewel shards and she was alone. As of this moment, she was grateful she had. She grabbed them and ran towards the directions she was being pulled in.

The feeling was getting stronger and Kagome knew it wasn't just concern any longer. Something was wrong. She could feel the presence of a youkai coming her way but she could feel that it had been weakened from it's original strength. She ran faster than she thought she could. She had to move fast. She could feel the youkai slowing down. She ran through an area of thick branches, not even slowing down. The branches cut and scratched at her skin but she refused to stop. The presence was so close. She stopped and looked up just in time to see Sesshoumaru on his youkai cloud as it disintegrated, leaving him to plummit to the ground. Kagome ran in an attempt to catch him but her efforts fell short. She didn't get under him in time and his body hit the ground with a hard thud.

"Sesshoumaru-samma? Sesshoumaru-samma!" Kagome nearly screamed at the taiyoukai in an effort to get him to answer her. 'Damn it Kagome! Why didn't you leave when you first got the feeling! Damn it!' She was blaming herself for this. She was trying to find a way to bring him back to consciousness when she heard a soft growl coming from him.

"Sesshoumaru-samma? Can you hear me?" Kagome asked gently.

"Yes..." he answered.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"Naraku...he attacked...I underestimated his abilities." He tried to sit up and winced in pain, falling back towards to ground. He expected to feel the hard ground against his back but was surprised when he felt Kagome's arm.

"Please, Rest Sesshoumaru-samma. You need to recover." She said gently as she laid him carefully on the ground.

Sesshoumaru stared at her, his eyes hiding the emotions and thoughts behind them. This girl, she was...caring for him? No, it couldn't be. The only people who cared for him were being paid to do so or they were doing it out of fear, but this girl seemed to be doing it out of concern for him. This couldn't be so. But still, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that it wasn't true, this miko human WAS caring for him out of concern.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, would you allow me to dress your wounds? It'll help you to heal faster." Kagome asked softly. She did wish to dress his wounds but she would allow him to decide if it was acceptable.

"Do as you wish, Miko." He answered, the same emotionless look on his face.

Those were the magic words. As soon as he said that she began to remove the medical supplies she would need from her backpack as Sesshoumaru eyed her actions with interest. She carried such strange belongings wtih her. Once she was done removing what she would need, she walked over to the injured youkai.

"Ok, We will need to remove your armour and your ...um...fluffy thing..."Kagome said. She honestly didn't know what that thing was.

Sesshoumaru inwardly chucked at her words. 'This human does not know what a tail is?'

"That 'Fluffy thing' is my tail, it does not come off, however, you can move it from my shoulder." his voice sounded somewhat amused, but his face did not change so Kagome had assumed she had imagined it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that was a tail. I mean, most tails aren't that big. Not that I've seen many people with tails. Actually, you are the first person I've seen with a tail other than Kouga, but he doesn't count. His tail is small..."Kagome was rambling. Once she realized that, she stopped, blushing. "Um, Your hakama and kimono will have to go as well. You know what, this would be alot easier if you were upright. If I help, would we be able to move you up against a tree?" Kagome asked, hoping that it would be possible.

"I will not need your help human." he said as he slowly dragged himself, through his pain, up to a tree. His words frustrated Kagome.

"I have a name you know. It's not hard to say either. Here I'll walk you through it. Ka-Go-Me. Got it?" she said to him, expressing her frustrations with the fact that he never used her name. Inuyasha was like this at first as well.

"Miko will suffice for now" Sesshoumaru answered her without hesitation. Upon hearing this, Kagome did a fairly decent immitation of Sesshoumaru's growl, which amused him.

Kagome decided to end the conversation as she walked over to him once more. This time she removed his armour ever so carefully. She could see the blood underneath it and she wasn't sure how big the wound was. She did not want to hurt him. She reached gently around the back and freed his armour from his body, laying it gently to one side. Next was his hakama. She took great care in removing the clothing. It was possible that the blood may have dried to the clothing, making removing it very painful. Finally the kimono came off. It was not as easy to remove at the hakama because it was right against the wound. Once Kagome saw the depth of the wound she winced immediately at the thought of how much it would hurt.

Sesshoumaru was quite amused watching the human girls reactions. She was being very careful not to hurt him. He didn't quite understand why she was being so careful with him. A little pain would not kill him, but never the less, she was trying to avoid giving him any pain at all. He heard he gasp when she saw the wound which marred his muscular abdomen and looked down just in time to see he wince. Most girls would have been completely disgusted by the sight but she didn't look away. This human was doing her job well. Before she began to dress the wound she picked up a can of ozonal spray which Sesshoumaru eyed suspiciously.

"I'm sorry Lord Sesshoumaru, but this will sting a little bit, but it will clean the cut out. The sting goes away fairly quickly, just don't hurt me, ok?" she said with the last part in a joking voice in an attempt to calm him.

"Do as you wish, Miko." again was his answer.

Kagome knew that this would hurt but she had warned him and so if he was angry, it would be his own fault for not listening to her. She told him to brace himself for the pain and she sprayed it, only enough for a light layer of it to cover the wound. Sesshoumaru growled deep in his chest at the pain before he felt Kagome's hand laid on his shoulder. He wasn't sure why, but this calmed him down and he was able to withstand the stinging until it subsided. When the subsiding occured he gave Kagome a look that signified that she could bandage the wound now, and she did. It did not take long seeing as Kagome was used to doing this alot with Inuyasha.

Kagome admired her work. She had cleaned and bandaged the cut nicely and Sesshoumaru had done nothing to harm her. That was always a good sign. Even when she had laid a hand on him to distract him from the pain. It was a habit she had picked up from calming her friends when she was dressing their wounds, although why it had calmed Sesshoumaru was beyond her. Sesshoumaru had fallen asleep shortly after she had finished. She saw that his kimono and hakama were drenched in blood and she could hear the stream was near by. She decided that washing his blood stained clothing would be a good idea. She knew it wouldn't make him smile because nothing could do that, but it would at least mean that he would have something to wear the next day that wasn't dirty.

She grabbed the clothing and walked away quietly, letting sleeping dogs lye. (Eri: Pardon the really bad pun) She took one last glance at him before heading off. He looked so peaceful. She smiled at the thought and continued towards the stream.

What she saw when she arrived took her breath away. The water was flowing as usual, but the moon was HUGE and it's reflection off the water was astounding. Kagome stared in awe before she was able to move forward. She gently placed the hakama beside her. It would stain the least so she would leave it for last. She dipped the kimono into the water and watched as most of the blood flowed away with the current. she scrubbed at it gently with her hands and that seemed to do the job. The rest of the blood came out. 'The wound must not have happened very long ago.' she thought to herself. She laid it up against a rock so that it would not touch the ground. His clothing was a very fine fabric. It felt like the finest silk in her finger tips. It was beautiful. The hakama was next. It was a little more difficult to get the blood out of. She scrubbed at it for a little while, but eventually it too came clean.

Kagome was satisfied with this and she grabbed the kimono off the rock and headed back towards Sesshoumaru. He was still sleeping soundly when she arrived. She was happy that he had not woken up. She hung his wet garments over a tree branch near by and gathered firewood and started a fire to keep them warm. She pulled out her blankets and lay on the opposite side of the fire from Sesshoumaru so that she could see him, and settled in for the night.

Eri: well, how was it? hmm? good? bad? metiochre? lemme know! lol. That chapter was fun to write. Lots of creative thinking. I am most creative at 2 in the morning and thats when i wrote this so, yeay! lol. next chapter won't be too long. thanks again!


	9. Awakening

Disclaimer: You know the drill, Inuyasha characters not mine, Fluffy's servants mine

**Chapter 9: Awakening**

Kagome had not been sleeping soundly all night. It seemed as though her senses were on high alert. Every little sound was enough to wake her and she immediately looked to Sesshoumaru to see if he was alright. Somehow he had not woken all night. Everything she heard ended up being just small animals in the forest.

Kagome decided against sleep after a while. It was obvious that she couldn't sleep and look out for Sesshoumaru at the same time. She got out of her sleeping bag and headed towards the tree he was leaning against. He didn't seem to be in any pain but she wasn't going to get too close in case he woke up. She found a tree that was close enough to hear and see him but she wouldn't wake him up. If she did, she was certain all hell would break loose.

The thoughts were flowing freely in her head. 'If he hates humans so much, why did he let me bandage him last night and not attack me when I sprayed the ozonal?' This was her main thought. If he was such a human hater, why would he allow her to care for him? Even Inuyasha fought against her care and he was half human himself. The thought really puzzled her. She snapped out of it when she realized that she was staring at him. 'Stop it Kagome. Just stop' she coaxed herself to look away, her eyes landing on the early morning sky. There were shades of light pink peaking through the trees. 'The sun is coming up. He will most likely wake soon. STOP IT KAGOME!' Kagome was mentally cursing herself when she felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked up to find that Sesshoumaru was wide awake and taking amusement in her mental argument.

"Oh, Lord Sesshoumaru, you're awake!" Kagome nearly shouted, blushing a deeper red than Inuyasha's hakama.

"Yes Miko, I am." He answered her, no emotion in his voice.

Kagome moved closer to him as it was now safe to do so. She wanted to check his injuries to see how they were healing. She was genuinely concerned about him.

"What are you doing miko?" he asked when he saw her getting closer.

"I am checking your wound. I just want to make sure you are alright." She answered and did not hesitate to advance further.

"Do as you wish Miko, but I am fine."

Kagome wanted to believe him but she knew that dog demons could be stubborn. She knelt in front of him and gently removed the bandages. She was amazed at what she saw. He had almost completely healed. All that remained as proof of his injury was a red mark that looked as though he had merely been slapped. She couldn't help herself. She slowly put her hand up to his abs and ran her fingers along where his wound had been only to find her hand being enveloped by a much bigger, clawed hand. It gently wrapped around hers. She looked up into the golden eyes that were staring at her. She saw no anger there and was relieved. Instead, they were filled with what seemed to be wonder and amusement.

"As you can see, This Sesshoumaru heals quicker than a human." He said, snapping her out of the trance his eyes held her in.

"Well, I knew you would heal faster, but Inuyasha doesn't heal that fast. I was not sure how long it would take you." She answered him honestly.

She watched as a smirk played across his features. It was only there for a brief moment before his face was once again emotionless. She took hope in the thought that he may not actually be as emotionless as he appeared normally. Even the heart of the ice prince himself could be melted.

Kagome was sure that this would be interesting. Training with Sesshoumaru should prove to be a lot better than she had originally thought, so long as she didn't make him angry, which she had a tendency to do. Sesshoumaru was staring at her again. She could feel it. It was kind of hard not to feel it.

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but stare at her. She was doing it again, lost in a world of her own thoughts, unaware of the emotions playing across her face with every thought. 'She is pretty when she does that.' He thought to himself, not even trying to stop it this time. He was willing to admit to himself that she was pretty, but she was a human and therefore still unmateable. (Eri: get it! Unmateable, undateable…..Eh? Eh?) She was unique. He did not mind her company and she did not smell like the other humans. She smelled of apples and cherry blossoms.

"Miko, what is your decision?" He asked her, bringing her back to reality.

"I'm, I'm coming with you." She said timidly, unsure of whether or not she should tell him what had pushed her to make the decision. "On one condition." She said as she remember that she was going to ask about Shippo.

"What is your condition miko?" He asked her, curious to know.

"My son Shippo, I won't leave him with Inuyasha. He beats him unnecessarily. He would make a good friend to Rin and when he grows up he could be a very helpful ally to you." She spoke with such confidence that she surprised Sesshoumaru. She was showing her true colours as his mother.

"Shippo, he is the small kitsune you travel with?"

"Yes, he is my adopted son."

"…." Sesshoumaru was thinking about it. "Very well, IF he desires to come, he may, but only because I would not trust my half brother to be able to keep anything alive."

Kagome was thrilled to hear him say that. She jumped for joy and nearly hugged the demon lord when she realized what she was about to do. She blushed because he had noticed what she had nearly done. 'Humans, so easy to please.' Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He was actually glad to see that one decision of his could please her so.

"Are you well enough to move now?" she asked him, recovering from her prior embarrassment.

"I am" he answered.

He was slow to rise and Kagome was watching him intently, reading to catch him at any moment should he fall. He wavered slightly when he was completely upright but he caught himself and shook it off. They headed towards the village at a pace that was comfortable for Sesshoumaru. Kagome knew that he was alright but she just wanted to make sure he didn't push himself.

When they arrived at the village, the villagers were terrified. After all, this was the powerful demon lord of the west walking past their homes. Once they saw that Kagome was with him they calmed down, but they were still on edge. They had seen Kagome come and go with Inuyasha all the time and they had never harmed them. In fact, there were many times that they protected them, but this was not Inuyasha. This was a full grown demon, more powerful than any they had ever seen. Kagome saw their anxiety and tried to calm them down. It seemed to work, although she knew they still did not feel comfortable with his presence.

Sesshoumaru himself was not comfortable to be around so many humans. In the past he had avoided any and all contact with them but now he was right in the middle of their dwelling, their scents surrounding him, enveloping him. He was drowning in their stench. He desperately wanted out. His discomfort was beginning to break through his stoic mask and he was afraid that Kagome would notice. 'Wait, why am I worried about what she will think? No, this is bigger than that. They must not see how I'm feeling. They will not fear me if they do. I need their fear. Once a demon lord becomes soft, it will be all over for them. No.' He came to a mental descision and made sure that his mask was securly in place.

Kagome could sense his discomfort behind her and surprised him by turning around to face him. She looked him in the eyes as he eyed her curiously. She smiled, grabbed his hand and ran to the edge of the village, away from the people. He followed like a puppy. Once she came to a stop, Sesshoumaru stared down at her.

"Miko, why did you do run?" He asked her.

"Come on Sesshoumaru-samma, it was obvious that you were uncomfortable around all those humans." She said with a laugh as she headed towards a hut on the outskirts of the village. Kaede's hut.

Sesshoumaru watched her as she walked away, astonished. 'She knew? How? I was making sure that no one knew.' Sesshoumaru growled softly in frustration with himself for not being able to hide it from her before walking at his normal pace towards her. Her footsteps were half the size of his so it was not difficult for him to catch up to her.

"How were you able to tell Miko?" He questioned her. He had to know. If it was something he could fix, he was more than willing to do it. He had to.

"I told you, my name is Ka-Go-Me. And I just knew.I'm not sure how. I could almost feel your discomfort behind me, that's all." She answered him the best she could. She really didn't know how, but she was always able to tell when someone wasn't comfortable or when they were in pain but hiding it. She figured it was part of being a Miko and brushed it off.

'Interesting,' Sesshoumaru thought, 'This girl FELT my discomfort. She didn't see it. This may come in handy to know in training. Kagome is more powerful than i thought. She could sense my discomfort in my aura...' Sesshoumaru felt a new respect for Kagome. If she was lucky he might even use her name now.

Kagome was heading straight for Kaede's hut when the blinds of the door moved and a small little kitsune exited the hut. It was Shippo. He stood outside the hut and looked around for a brief moment before noticing Kagome.

"OKAA CHAN!" he yelled as he charged at his mother. "YOU'RE OK! We were so worried about you! Even Inuyasha!" The last part made Kagome laugh.

It took a short while before Shippo noticed the demon in white standing behind Kagome. When he did, he screamed. The sound was enough to make Kagome scream and drop him, holding her ears. She quickly picked him back up.

"Shippo! Stop screaming! He's not going to hurt anyone! Not if you stop screaming!" she pleaded with him to stop.

When he heard his mothers words, he calmed down immediately. He had forgotten that Sesshoumaru had come to train her, not to kill her. Although Kagome's ears were still ringing, she turned to face Sesshoumaru.

"I'm sorry about that, that must have really hurt your ears." she said sympathetically. He just nodded in response, acccepting her heart felt apology.

"I am fine, though you would be wise not to do that again kitsune." was all that he said.

Kagome smiled. He was behaving himself. He did have honour.

"Shippo," Kagome turned her attention to the kitsune in her arms, "where is everyone else?"

"Miroku, Sango, Kirara and Kikyo are in Kaede's hut." Shippo answered her.

Kagome's face fell at the mention of Kikyo's name. 'Crap, Kikyo, I almost forgot.' She snapped out of her self-induced trance. There were other things to worry about right now. Better things to think about than Kikyo.

"And where is Inuyasha?" she asked, she hoped that he would be nearby somewhere.

"Oh him? He went looking for you an hour ago. Said something about not wanting to be around Miroku and Sango anymore." Shippo seemed so innocent in his words. He was just happy that his mother was back and she was safe. It amused Kagome how little he seemed to care that Inuyasha hadn't returned.

"Ok, thank you Shippo. Can you please go back inside the hut and tell everyone I am alright?"

Shippo nodded.

"Arigato Shippo."

As the playful little kitsune ran back to the hut Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru. She knew that this was taking restraint on his part. He was still in a bit of pain and that shreak from Shippo didn't help.

"Thank you for not killing anyone yet." She said playfully. "As you heard, Inuyasha is somewhere in the forest looking for me. We have to find him. He has to know that I am alright. I promised him that I'd come and let him know."

Sesshoumaru nodded his understanding. He knew that it was the right thing to do to tell his brother that he had come for her. Kagome had begun to walk away from him towards the hut when he suddenly said

"Kagome"

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. 'Did he just...use my name?' She turned to him, trying to act like it was nothing.

"Yes Sesshoumaru-samma?"

"I will wait outside the hut for you. This Sesshoumaru has no intentions of entering a humans homes." He said, pompous as ever.

Kagome just smiled at him. "Yes Sesshoumaru-samma"

Before Kagome made it to the hut a pair of very happy humans came running out and grabbed her, startling her enough to get a small squeek out of her. They held her tightly. Kagome relaxed her muscles and wrapped her arms around them. When they released her, she saw the shining faces of Miroku and Sango.

"When you didn't come back last night we were worried that Sesshoumaru had taken away without us getting to say goodbye. Or even worse, that something had happened to you." Sango was bubbling over she was so happy to see her friend back safely. Kagome couldn't help but laugh.

"Sango, it wasn't me that was hurt," she was about to tell them it was Sesshoumaru when she heard a small growl coming from his direction and thought better of it. She quickly thought of a cover. "I found an injured dog in the forest so I took care of it. When I woke up in the morning, Sesshoumaru was there." She was proud of herself for that one. It wasn't a lie in the least. She just didn't say the dog was Sesshoumaru. The bought it, hook, line and sinker. Kagome breathed a soft sigh of relief and glanced at Sesshoumaru, who was very impressed with the cover she came up with so quickly. 'Very honorable, she avoided telling them about my injury but she didn't lie either. Impressive.' Sesshoumaru thought to himself.

"So where is the dog now?" Sango asked, genuinely concerned for it but unknowingly putting Kagome on the spot once more.

"Well, when I woke up in the morning he was well enough to walk on his own so he walked away from where we had spent the night." 'Phew, that should be a good enough answer. Kami, please don't let her ask anymore questions.' She thought to herself after answering.

Sesshoumaru was watching amused from a good 10 feet away. He had not realized how quick witted Kagome was. She was showing her true colours. He would have to be mindful of this as well in the future. She was able to avoid the truth without lying. She would need that because he could detect the stress levels in a humans voice when they are lying. 'she truly is an impressive human... Maybe not all humans are the same after all...' Sesshoumaru sighed. He had only een in this girls presence one night and she was already making him think things he would have never done before.

Once the conversation was over between the humans, Sesshoumaru grabbed Kagome by the arm and dragged her out of ear shot of the humans.

"Ow! What was that for!" she asked, pouting and rubbing her sore wrist.

"I did not intend to harm you, for that I do apologize"'Apologize!Sesshoumaru, what are you saying!'"But we do not have time to waste. We must find the half breed and speak with your son before we leave at sunset." He couldn't believe he just apologized to her. The great Sesshoumaru, apologizing to a human? It was unthinkable but then again...

Kagome was shocked that they would have to leave so soon. "Ok, Well, would you be able to track down Inuyasha?"

"As much as I do not wish to speak with him, I will do as must be done." he turned from her, but before he walked away he said "and you will speak with the Kitsune while I am gone. Do not waste time doing it. I will not be gone long." With that, he left her behind.

Kagome walked towards the hut, his words still ringing in her head. 'speak with the kitsune while I am gone. Do not waste time doing it. I will not be long.' 'Ok Kagome, that means get right down to business.' She nodded to herself and picked up the pace. She had to do what must be done. When she reached the hut she stuck her head in the door way, called Shippo to come outside and closed the blinds behind them.

"Shippo, I know that you don't trust Sesshoumaru, but you trust me right?" she asked him sweetly.

"Of course I do, Okaa chan!" he said eyeing her suspiciously.

"I will be leaving with him, but I don't wish to leave you behind. Not with Inuyasha. You may come with me if you like, but we will be leaving tonight. Do you wish to come?" Kagome laid his options on the table for him. Shippo pondered her words for a moment before he answered her.

"Has Sesshoumaru-samma said that it would be ok? I don't want to go if it's not alright with him. He might hurt me."

Kagome chuckled at his words and told him that Sesshoumaru had indeed agreed to it and that he would not hurt him or else he would face Kagome's arrow. Shippo laughed at the thought of Sesshoumaru backed against a tree with Kagome pointing and arrow at him. He agreed to go with her. When she heard his agreement she scooped him up into her arms and hugged him tightly. That was what she had wanted him to say. Now she could still protect him.

_In The Forest_

Sesshoumaru was following Inuyasha's scent. He was surprised at how far the hanyou had gotten. He was running at full speed as he knew that the day was running out for them. His wound was healed and his strength was back to normal. He needed to find his half brother. He could hear his brother calling Kagome's name. He ran towards the sound of his voice, fighting the urge to turn back. He saw the red of Inuyasha's Hakama and stopped directly behind him.

"Inuyasha, the miko is back at the village. She is fine." He said to him in his most monotone voice.

"Sesshoumaru? What happened yesterday? Why didn't you show up?" Inuyasha asked, impatient with his half brother.

"I was...detained."

"By what?"

"THAT, brother, is none of your business. I do not have time for this. We must go back." Sesshoumaru turned from him and bolted in the direction of the village, knowing full well that his brother would follow him.

_Back at the Village_

Kagome was still holding Shippo when the brothers broke through the edge of the forest, Sesshoumaru in the lead. Kagome smiled at him. He had done what he said. He nearly smiled back when he saw that she had done the same thing. Inuyasha and Shippo went inside while Sesshoumaru and Kagome stayed outside. They needed to speak.

"Kagome, tell them what you must and we are leaving. I will wait outside once more. Do not be long." Sesshoumaru said to her in an emotionless voice. Kagome nodded her agreement and went inside.

When she got inside everyone was sitting down waitng to hear what she had to say. Kagome was a little uncomfortable with the setting in front of her and she was showing her discomfort. She decided that she would no longer avoid saying it.

"Eveyone, Sesshoumaru and I are taking leave once I am done speaking with you. Shippo is coming with us. I can't leave him behind. It isn't that I don't trust you all it's just that I just can't leave my son behind. You understand don't you?" She asked them all. They all nodded. Kagome could see that they were not exactly excited to see her leave. She said her goodbyes to all of them. She told them all that she would come back and visit. What was Sesshoumaru going to do, put her on a leash? (Eri: sorry sorry sorry, REALLY bad pun) No, he wouldn't be able to stop them from crossing paths.Once she was finished, she grabbed all of Shippo's and her belongings and headed out the door to where Sesshoumaru was waiting patiently.

"Are you ready?" He asked them. They both nodded in agreement. Kagome had been holding Shippo, which worked well because Sesshoumaru had picked Kagome up bridal style, formed his youkai cloud and they sailed off in the air towards his castle.

Eri: Holy crap, that was a long one! I think it was worth it though:) Please review! Next chapter won't be too long of a wait away! Thanks again!


	10. The Castle and the Hot Springs

Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters not mine, Sesshy's servants mine

**Chapter 10: The Castle and the Hot Springs**

Sesshoumaru, Kagome, and Shippo were flying at an extraordinary speed towards Sesshoumaru's castle in the west. They had taken to the air only a short time before the sun had gone down. Kagome had become drowsy shortly after they left and fell asleep in Sesshoumaru's arms. He did not mind. She was light to carry. The little kitsune however was getting on his last nerve. With Kagome asleep the kit only had Sesshoumaru to talk to and boy was he ever talking. Sesshoumaru would have grabbed him by the neck and strangled the life out of him had he not been holding Kagome.

"Kitsune, I suggest you silence yourself before I do it for you." Sesshoumaru growled at him from deep within his chest. This was a bad idea because the rumble in his chest roused Kagome from her sleep.

"Mmm, Don't threaten him." She mumbled softly. She knew Sesshoumaru would hear her.

"I will do as I please Miko." He replied smugly. This caused Kagome to become angry with him.

"Do...Not...Threaten...My...Son" she said once more, emphasizing each word and making it clear to Sesshoumaru that if he did he would face a mother's wrath. An angry miko was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

"Then I would suggest that you keep him quiet." He answered her as he set her feet down on his cloud. It would be safe for her now that she was awake enough to hold her own weight.

"Shippo, come here." Kagome was forcing her son down off of Sesshoumaru's shoulder. When Shippo realized what she was doing he went to her willingly.

Kagome looked out over the vast landscape that was passing beneath them. It was beautiful. On one side there were trees as far as the eye could see. The other side was a vast amount of water. 'We must be flying along the coast' Kagome thought to herself. Sesshoumaru noticed her silence and glanced in her direction to see what she was up to. He noticed her wonderment and smiled to himself, making sure that she had not seen. She was still too busy looking out over the water.

"Sesshoumaru-samma?" she asked quietly.

"Yes..."He answered in his usual tone.

"Do you do this often? This flying thing?" She asked him. She knew she probably sounded dumb, but she had to know.

"Yes." He answered her.

"It's beautiful. You are lucky." She said softly.

"Indeed."

Kagome just had to know what it looked like below them. She set Shippo down beside Sesshoumaru and walked slowly to the very edge of the cloud. She wasn't afraid of heights. She never had been. She noticed that the very edge of the cloud was softer than the rest so she moved slowly so as not to fall off. As she crept to the edge she began to see the trees and rocks that were passing directly beneath them. She became fascinated by them. That was when she made a horrible mistake. She took one step too far. The cloud beneath her was too soft to support her weight and she dropped right through.

Sesshoumaru had been eyeing her with interest. He figured that she would end up falling. He almost smiled again when she did. He could hear her screaming as she fell.

Kagome was screaming more than she ever had. She was falling from the highest height she had even been to. She looked above to where the cloud carrying Sesshoumaru and her son had once been. It was gone. 'Maybe they didn't notice I fell!' She panicked. She turned her body to see how close to the ground she was. 'This would have been fun if i had a parachute!' she thought to herself as the ground came ever nearer. She was preparing herself for the impact when she felt herself being caught. She opened her eyes to see that Sesshoumaru had caught her.

"You...You saved me?" she sputtered.

"I did not save you miko. We are now in the western lands and you are my responsibility. I saved myself the hassle of dealing with the questions of why I allowed a miko to die in my lands. That is all."

Kagome didn't believe a word of it. She knew exactly what had just happened. He was repaying the favour for her taking care of him when he was injured. She smiled. 'I'l give him one thing, he is definitely more honourable than Inuyasha' she thought to herself and began to giggle. 'Oh no! I'm giggling! Stop it Kagome! You look like you're going crazy!' she mentally cursed herself as she giggled. She could feel Sesshoumaru's eyes on her. She knew he thought she was losing it.

"What is it that you find so amusing miko?" he asked her, trying to hide his amusement in her actions.

"Oh nothing giggle giggle just a stupid thought I had giggle giggle"

That was all she had to answer him with? A stupid thought? 'UGH! Kagome! You couldn't think of anything better than that!' She was mentally cursing herself again.

"We are nearly there. Once we arrive I will have my servants show you around. You will then be taken to your quarters where you may choose to spend the night or be escorted to the hot springs." Sesshoumaru stated in his monotone voice.

"I have been here before. I know where the hot springs are." Kagome answered him, trying to immitate his voice.

"Yes, but the castle is large and it would be unwise to get lost. I would not enjoy having to look for you." Sesshoumaru answered smugly. He was impressed that she could mimick him so well. "There is one rule to my castle. Any order I give must be followed and you will address me with my honourable title."

"I understand." Kagome was looking at him. "Where will Shippo be staying?" she asked him.

"You will keep him in your quarters until such time as I have a room prepared for him." He answered without much thought.

"Thank you."

Before too long they arrived at the castle. Kagome was amazed by it's size. It was tall than the length of two football fields. It was made out of limestone and the gates where lined with gold. There were guards all around the gates. From what Kagome could see, most of them were inuyoukai. There were a few kitsunes and a couple of nekos as well. Upon seeing their masters arrival, they lowered their weapons and bowed reverantly. A few of the guards noticed Kagome following Sesshoumaru and grabbed her arms in an attempt to stop her. Somehow, Sesshoumaru had not noticed this and kept walking. Kagome was trying to get away from them.

"Sesshoumaru - samma!" she yelled, getting his attention. He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Kagome being held captive by his guards. It angered him greatly but he kept calm.

"Release her. She is our guest." The guards immediately released her and muttered their apologies to their master. Kagome rubbed her arm gently where they had held her. Shippo had been woken up by all the commotion and jumped up onto her shoulders.

"My guards did not recognize you, for that I apologize. I believe you remember Kiana. She will take you around the castle and bring you to your quarters after. I am leaving." He said before quickly walking in the other direction.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshoumaru!" She shouted after him. He merely waved to show that he heard.

Kagome turned back to Kiara. This was going to be interestnig. This castle was huge and she would no doubt be amazed at what he kept in his home. 'Wait a minute he apologized to me again! He is definitely not his brother!' Kagome smiled at the thought. Inuyasha was a great protector and all but he was rude, selfish, pig headed and she just couldn't stand to be around him anymore. Sesshoumaru was very honourable. He wasn't rude. Maybe a little selfish but that is to be expected when you are nobility.

"Hello Kiana," Kagome said, "It's nice to see you again. Shall we get this party started?"

Kiana couldn't help but laugh. Kagome had such a strang way of speaking. "Indeed. Let us begin."

The two walked for what seemed like hours. Kiara showed Kagome where the kitchens were for if she got hungry. She showed her the dining halls and the many sitting rooms. Kagome was in awe that someone would need so many living rooms. She was shown where the library was, Sesshoumaru's study, his quarters, the hot springs, the washrooms(although they were very primitive to what she was used to at home, she was impressed that he somehow had running water) and finally she and Shippo were shown to their room. The doors to the room were quite large. They were made of oak with beautiful engravings in them. They suited well what was behind them. The room was enormous. The walls were a beautiful sky blue. The bed was a bit larger than a king size bed with fur blankets and many pillows. There was a large window to the left of the bed and to the right there was a balcony. Beside the door was a large oak wardrobe. Kagome couldn't help herself. She had to look inside. What she saw nearly brought her to tears. Sesshoumaru had it filled with the most beautiful kimonos she had ever seen. They were made from the finest silks. There were even kimono's for sleeping in. She grabbed one of the night wear ones and set Shippo down on the bed, as he had fallen asleep once more. She grabbed all the things she would need for bathing and asked Kiana to walk her down to the hot springs once more, seeing as she had forgotten how to get there.

It had been hours since Kagome had last seen Sesshoumaru and she was wondering what he was up to. It was probably some important business to do with being the lord of the castle. By the time they reached the hot springs she had completely forgotten about it.

"Once you are done, you may call for me and I shall come to escort you back to your room." Kiana said to her before bowing and taking leave.

"Arigato!" Kagome yelled after her. 'Does everyone in this castle always leave before you get the chance to thank them?' She thought to herself. 'No matter, I'm here now anyways.'

She slipped in the door. This room was all too familiar. It was the large room that you first had to go through to get to the hot springs. There were small pools at either side of the room. They were simply for the purpose dipping into to wash yourself before you relaxed in the hot springs. Kagome took the liberty of using them. She could do with a good washing. She slipped out of her dirty clothes and into the water. It was cold to the touch and Kagome shivered. She quickly swam under in an attempt to allow her entire body to get used to the waters temperature. Fortunately for her it worked. She swam over to the edge where she had placed her shampoo and began washing her hair. She lathered it up and scrubbed at ther scalp until her hair felt cleaner. She rinsed it off the best way she could think of. She swam. While she was under the water she used her hands to both push her body forward and to free the shampoo from her hair. When she was satisfied that it was all out she proceeded to do the same thing with the soap.

Once she was finished she slipped out of the water and wrapped herself in her towel. She felt so clean but so cold now that she was out of the water. She couldn't wait to slip into the hot springs. She picked up all of her belongings and headed towards the next room. She opened the door to find a room filled with many separate hot springs, each one separated by stone so that the person bathing in the next one could not see you. She found one that appealed to her and headed straight for it. She dropped the towel and was about to step into the water when she heard a noise behind her. She spun around to see Sesshoumaru. Stark raving naked. Her eyes went wide as saucers when she saw him and realised that she too was naked. She shreaked and went head first into the water. 'What is he doing here! AHHH!' Kagome was freaking out. She was naked. So was he. She saw him but she hoped to the Kami's that he didn't see her. 'Ok Kagome, you need to breath. Get your head out of the water!' she realized that she was still under the water and that oxygen was necessary.

When she resurfaced, Sesshoumaru was standing over the side of the hot spring. He had covered up him bottom half but left his top half bare. 'Crap, he did see me!'

"Sesshoumaru-samma, what are you doing here!" she nearly yelled at him.

"Bathing, It seemed the right thing to do at a hot spring." he cocked an eyebrow at the miko. It was a rather thoughtless question.'What is this girl doing to me? She's got me making jokes!'

"Woah! Did you just joke!" Kagome was shocked to hear what he had said.

Sesshoumaru sighed before he answered "Yes Kagome, I did. If you will bathe quickly, I will escort you back to your room."

"Umm, Sure. Just give me a minute." She answered, blushing.

Sesshoumaru nodded and walked out the door. He waited in the pool room for her. There were seats just outside the door and he claimed one of them. He had seen her naked at it had pleased him very much. He did not understand why though. 'Her body is perfect, not an ounce of excess fat anywhere.' He couldn't get her out of his head. 'Damn it, what is Kagome...I mean the miko doing to me? She is a human!'

Kagome was sitting in the water. She couldn't stop thinking about what she had just seen. He was naked. He was beautiful and naked! Her cheeks were becoming flushed and she couldn't stop them. 'Ok Kagome, Stop thinking about it. He is a demon and he hates humans...but he was so hot...NO! HE'S A DEMON!' she was trying to hard to stop herself and decided that sitting in the water thinking about stopping herself from thinking about it was only making it worse. She got out of the water, dried herself off, and slipped into her night kimono. She allowed her hair to hang loose and wet behind her. Just this once she was going to let it air dry. She brushed it out and walked out of the room, belongings in hand.

'She looks beautiful in that kimono.' Sesshoumaru thought to himself. 'For a human she is quite stunning.' Sesshoumaru was willing to accept that she was, for a human, acceptable. She smelled different from humans. Everytime he was near her he tried to ignore the intoxicating scent of apples and cherry blossoms, but it was a losing battle. She was taking over his every thought and he had to do something about it.

"Let's go." He said as he walked away from her, nearly failing to hide the emotion.

"Yea..." Kagome followed the stoic demon, blushing. "I'm sorry about back there, I didn't expect to see you there, at least not so much of you..."

'haha, she is amusing. She'll make someone a good mate someday' Sesshoumaru laughed in his head but to Kagome he simply nodded.

Neither of them spoke the entire way back to Kagome's room. The silence was rather uncomfortable for Kagome, but she had nothing to say. Sesshoumaru was merely lost in his thoughts. He wasn't one to say much to begin with. They reached Kagome's chambers. Sesshoumaru paused to watch her enter and continued walking.

Kagome stepped inside her room to find Shippo sitting chatting with 3 full grown kitsune guards. Kagome couldn't help but laugh. Shippo had made some new friends. When the 4 demons noticed her, the guards bowed to her and Shippo ran towards her, jumping into her arms.

"I see you've made some friends Shippo. It would be good to know their names." She said loud enough for them to hear.

"I am Shinsai, and this is Mondaro and Renturu." One answered her. The one who spoke was tall with dark brown hair and silver eyes. Mondaro was about Kagome's height with short blonde hair and green eyes and Renturu was the same height as Shinsai who was still speaking.

"Renturu is my brother."

It was obvious by their appearances. Their features were very similar. The only major difference was that Renturu had medium brown hair. It made Kagome smile how politely they spoke to her. She liked them and it was obvious why Shippo liked them.

"Please forgive us for entering your room. We were given orders by Lord Sesshoumaru to keep an eye on Shippo. When he entered your room, he asked us to follow." Mondaro was apologizing to her. He knew that had this been Sesshoumaru's room they would have been beheaded.

Kagome smiled and said "You are forgiven. As long as you are watching Shippo, you are welcome in my room. Just make sure you knock before you come in. Now if you'll excuse us, it is late and I am very tired. Thank you for watching Shippo for me."

The three bowed to her and wished them a good night before leaving the room.

Kagome sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, Shippo still in her arms.

"I like them Okaa chan!"

"I'm sure you do Shippo. I like them too. Maybe they could help you to use your magic." she answered him, putting as much hope in her voice as she could without sounding sarcastic.

"Mmhmm!" Shippo replied cheerily.

"Come on, lets go to bed. Its going to be a very long day tomorrow."

Kagome set Shippo down on the bed and lay next to him until he fell asleep. Once she was sure he was asleep she got up and went to the balcony. The sky was beautiful. The moon was still full. She looked out over the garden that was just outside her window. It was stunning. 'Does Sesshoumaru tend to this himself? Maybe he keeps it just for Rin.' Either way, it was hard for her to imagine Sesshoumaru having such a beautiful garden in his castle. She searched the grounds to see what else she could see when she noticed something white moving out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over to see what it was. Sesshoumaru was standing on the balcony over and up a floor. He was leaning on the railing. She watched him intently. It seemed as though he had let his stoic mask fall. Kagome could see that he was exhausted and that he needed rest. She felt her heart going out to him. She was staring at him. She didn't dare say anything or else the mask would fall back in place. She watched as he turned and walked back into the castle and she was somewhat disappointed. She had hoped to see more.

Kagome yawned. It certainly had been a long day and tomorrow was going to be even longer. She walked back into her room and laid down next to Shippo, pulling the blankets up over them. 'I could definately get used to this' She thought to herself as she allowed herself to fall into a peaceful sleep.

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Eri: well there you have it, She's seen him without the mask, just once. Where will the story go from here? Not quite sure yet. Gimmie some ideas in your reviews. I wanna know where you want me to go with this. Thanks again! Review!


	11. Let the Training Begin

Disclaimer: Inuyasha Characters not mine, Sesshoumaru's guards and servants(Jaken excluded) mine

Eri: Hey all, I'm SOOOOO sorry about the delay between chapters. I've been busy and the times that I'm not busy I've had massive writers block. This isn't as easy as some people make it look. Please, Enjoy!

**Chapter 11: Let the Training Begin**

Kagome woke to the sound of two very young voices. One was Shippo's the other was that of a little girl. Kagome couldn't figure out who the voice belonged to. She opened her eyes and when she saw her surroundings she remember the events of the day before immediately and assumed the little voice was that of Rin. Her suspicions were confirmed as she sat up to see the two happily playing on the floor near the end of the bed. The two noticed her.

"Oh! Good morning Kagome!" Rin said.

"Mm, Morning Rin, Morning Shippo. How long have you two been up?" Kagome asked them.

"Well, we've been playing here for only a few minutes if that's what you mean." Shippo answered her.

"Kagome! Can you take us down to the garden after breakfast? Please! I have something down there I want to show you!" Rin said with so much excitement that Kagome could not refuse her.

They two children waited while Kagome picked out a kimono and put it on. She found one that she found to be stunning. It was an light blue with the same 3 hexagons in the corner like Sesshoumaru's white one, except they were light green instead of red. She looked great. She felt great. As they walked down to the garden they walked past a room that Kagome had noticed on the tour that Kiana gave her but it was never told to her what it was used for. She eyed the door curiously as they passed. She would find out what it was, even if she had to sneak off to find out on her own she would.

They reached the garden and Kagome was overwhelmed by the beauty that surrounded her. The sights, the scents, they were almost too much for Kagome to handle.

She slowed her pace to admire the rose bushes when she felt her arm being tugged at. She looked to see what was touching her and it was Rin.

"Kagome, Come with me! I have something to show you!" She exclaimed out of joy and pulled at her sleeve. Kagome followed her obediently. The girl seemed quite excited to show her some part of the garden. This girl was quite adorable. She had somehow been able to get on Sesshoumaru's good side and now she was dragging Kagome around the garden.

Little did they know, they were being watched. From high above them, in a window of the unknown room, stood Sesshoumaru. The little girl was talking her to _his _spot of the garden. He could see the awe written across Kagome's face and it pleased him to no end to know that she was enjoying his home. 'Perhaps I shall join her. 'When she arrives in my favourite area.' He had settled it. He would join her. However, he would wait until she arrived to the spot where Rin was taking her

Kagome was trailing slowly behind the happy little girl. She was admiring the garden while being dragged by the little girl that she barely knew more than her name. The girl seemed so happy with Sesshoumaru. Kagome was unsure of how he truly felt towards humans now. 'He claims to hate them and yet he allows this human girl to live with him? And know I'm staying here too? Maybe he isn't as cold hearted as I first thought he was…' Kagome was too busy thinking about Sesshoumaru to realize that they had arrived to the place Rin was taking her. Rin snapped her out of it quickly.

"See? It's pretty! Lord Sesshoumaru spends a lot of time here when he allows Rin to play in the garden." Rin said cheerily.

Kagome had to admit, the area was truly stunning. It was a large open spaced area with a large pond in the center. It was surrounded by a circle of trees and there was a beautiful bridge built across the pond. Kagome was in awe of the beautiful area that Rin claimed Sesshoumaru spent most of his time in. She slowly walked up to the pond and knelt near the edge. She drew circles across the water with he fingers. As she did, she attracted some of the fish that lived in the pond. They were mainly Koi fish in there. They were beautiful white and gold colours.

"You'll scare the fish if you keep doing that." a deep, cold voice was heard from behind her. She jumped and nearly landed in the water.

"Don't scare me like that Sesshoumaru-samma! I didn't know you were there! I could have fallen in the water!" she nearly yelled at the taiyoukai, amusing him very much so(not that he would ever show it).

"Rin, go back inside." He said to the young girl.

She was about to protest but she did as she was told. She had wanted to spend more time with Kagome in the garden. She was tired of playing with Jaken. He was never much fun. The only joy she found in being with him was torturing him. She ran back to the castle and grabbed Shippo's hand, taking him with her. As she ran back to the castle, Sesshoumaru watched her, secretly making sure that she did not hurt herself. When she was out of his sight he turned back around to Kagome.

"I see Rin has brought you to this spot. She seems to like you." he said to her with disinterest evident in his voice.

"Yes, and I like her as well. Shippo will finally have someone to play with now." She said back to him, matching his disinterest impressively.

"Indeed."

The two stood in silence for a while. Kagome wondering why Sesshoumaru would spend his time in the most beautiful part of the garden. Wondering why he allowed the little girl to stay with him. She was truly considering that he was not as mean as he appeared to be. He was nothing like Inuyasha. He was proud, but he was not rude. He was always truthful, he had no need to lie. Granted he didn't care what others thought so he didn't need to lie, but still.

"Your training will begin the evening. When the time come, I shall summon you and lead you to the dojo. After the first time, you shall be on your own to find your way there so I suggest you pay attention to where I am leading you." Sesshoumaru broke the silence. He was actually quite looking forward to seeing her power for himself. She was rumoured to be very powerful, but very uncontrolled with her powers. He would start her with the basics of weaponry. He would then proceed to showing her how to use a spell and giving her books to read on spells that she is to master on her own and use in battle to surprise him. She would prove to be a worthy opponent when the training was completed.

"We will begin when the sun hits the horizon. I have supplied you with training gear. It shall be on your bed when you return to your room." He said to her before he left. There was something different about this girl. He felt at peace around her. A feeling he had never felt around any other human but Rin. He had never trusted humans. He had a bad past with the humans he did know. The few he had met had lied and not kept their word. It had all began when his father mated with Inuyasha's mother. It was her human frailty that lead to his father's death.

Kagome just watched as Sesshoumaru walked away. 'He truly is handsome...wait, what! ARG! STOP THINKING THAT KAGOME!' Kagome found herself holding her cheeks blushing watching him walk away. He didn't even do so much as turn to face her, for which she was grateful or else he would have noticed the red cheeks. She was worried that she would dissappoint him in training. She knew that she wasn't very powerful yet. No, correction, She knew she had power but she wasn't sure how to use it. Sesshoumaru was very strong and he could snap her like a twig with one hand. What if he wasn't willing to show restraint? What if he decided to just kill her off in the dojo? 'No, that doesn't make sense. The point of training is to become stronger. He won't take it very easy on me, but he won't kill me.' Kagome some how found herself ending up trusting him. She trusted that he wasn' going to kill her. He had protected her once before. He had saved her from that bear demon. She had a feeling that he wouldn't have saved her just to kill her off now.

Kagome stolled back towards the castle, taking this chance to admire the flowers with being dragged by a little child. It truly was remarkable that Sesshoumaru would have this garden. She had originally imagined his castle to be dark and cold but instead it was warm and inviting. She looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun was directly above her. That would explain why she was hungry. It was lunch time. She quickened her steps and found her way to the kitchen. She saw the demon servants rushing about getting the food ready. She stuck her head in the door and got the attention of one of the servants.

"Excuse me, would you be able to tell me how much longer it will be until the food is ready?" She asked him trying to be as nice as possible. She had apparently startled the demon.

"Milady! I'm sorry, I didn't know you were there. The food should be ready shortly." He answered her.

"Please, call me Kagome. I'm sorry to have startled you. What is your name?" She asked him.

"My name? I am Sinari." He answered her, rather surprised that she would care to know his name.

"Well, thank you very much Sinari." She said with a bow and left the bewildered demon to his work.

Kagome wandered her way around the castle. This was indeed a large enough home for Sesshoumaru. She found herself getting lost several times. She had almost given up home of ever finding the dining room when she bumped into Kiana in the hallway.

"Oh, Lady Kagome! Please forgive me." Kiana said, bowing to Kagome.

"Don't be sorry Kiana, it was my fault. And how many times do I have to ask you to call me Kagome?" Kagome answered in response.

"I am sorry Lady Kagome, but I can not call you by your name alone. It is not honorable for a servant and Lord Sesshoumaru would remove my head for it." She answered her, truly sorry that she could not obey her wishes.

"Hmm, you have a point there. But you can call me that in private." Kagome winked at Kiana and she got the message. She smiled in return.

"Lady Kagome, I do have one question. What would you be wandering around these halls looking for?" Kiana questioned her.

"Well actually," Kagome blushed, "I was looking for the dining hall and i got kinda lost. Could you help me to find it please?" Kiana chuckled at her embarrassment.

"There is no need to feel embarrassed Lady Kagome. I have served here since I was a child and even I still get lost every now and then. I would be glad to show you to the dining hall." Kiana was trying to make Kagome feel better and it had appeared to work. She smiled at her and bowed in thanks to her.

It was a long walk to the dining hall. Kagome began to wonder how she had gotten so far away from it. She was admiring the castles many decorations as she walked with Kiana. They passed that strange unknown room again and Kagome couldn't help herself. She had to ask what it was. The question had been burning in the back of her head for the last day and a half. That room. It seemed so...mysterious. Normally a room that you had not been told what it was, wasn't mysterious. After all, it was only a room. She couldn't figure out why this room seemed to be so drawing to her. She had to find out.

"Kiana, what is that room? No body has told me what it is and I get a strange feeling from it." She asked her, hoping to finally get an answer.

Kiana looked at her in a brief moment of panic before quickly recovering and said "It is nothing. sniff Ah, Lunch is being served. Let's not doddle. Sesshoumaru will be displeased at your absense."

'Wait a minute, Sesshoumaru is going to be there? I thought he didn't eat. Hmm...yet another thing I didn't know about him..."Kagome pondered over him once more. He was really beginning to change her opinions of him. Granted he was still cold and devoid of all emotions, or was he? 'Maybe he is forced to hide his emotions because of his title...Does Sesshoumaru really care about anyone?...Nah!' As they rounded a corner Kagome could smell the food. It smelled delicious. She couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it. It had been a while since she had had a decent meal. Something other than instant ramen and berries. Her mouth was watering at the thought. "I wonder if Sesshoumaru eats the same kinds of food as me...but wouldn't that be considered eating "human food"? If so..what DOES he eat then?...' Kagome was lost in her thoughts when Kiana stopped in front of her. She ended up bumping into her once more. She blushed and apologized. Kiana smiled and opened the doors that she had stopped in front of.

"This is the dining room. If I were you, I would tell Lord Sesshoumaru about your geting lost. He will understand." She bowed to Kagome and left her to enter the dining hall alone.

The room was large. the table in the center of the room was made of stone. Marble to be exact. The walls were a pale grey colour. If the room hadn't have been so large and the furniture so elaborate, it would have appeared dull. Kagome walked slowly into the room and she saw Sesshoumaru sitting at the head of the table, which made sense because he was the Lord of the castle. He sat proudly at his place. He seemed irritated that someone would show up late, especially his guest. On one side of him was Rin. She was sitting happily waiting for her food. Shippo was sitting next to her. He seemed to be a bit weary of Sesshoumaru, but he was happy none the less. Jaken was on the other side of Shippo. He sat next to him to make sure that the children did not do anything to get themselves of him in trouble.

"Please forgive me Sesshoumaru-samma. Your castle is large and I got lost looking for the dining hall." Kagome blushed, embarrassed to admit that she was unable to find her way around.

A small, bearly noticable smile played it's way across Sesshoumaru's lips for the briefest of moments before vanishing to allow for the stoic mask to return.

"You are forgiven. Now eat." Sesshoumaru answered her apologies. She sat at the spot at the table nearest Sesshoumaru's end. She assumed that she had better sit at the spot that had been set for her. She noticed that Sesshoumaru did not have a place set in front of him.

"Are you not going to eat?" Kagome asked him, hoping she wasn't over stepping her boundaries.

"I do not eat human food." He stated coldly.

'I suspects so much.' Kagome thought to herself, but she couldn't help but wondering what it was the he did eat. She decided not to press the issue. They sat in silence until a servant came in and brought Sesshoumaru a couple of strange looking liquid and a plate of food for Kagome. She looked at his couple. The liquid inside had an odd colour to it. She was curious to find out what it was, but she would be polite and wait unti he had drank some of it and she had eaten some of the food from her plate. It was only polite for her to wait for the host to begin eating. She watched him intently, as she was becoming increasingly hungry. He seemed to be taking forever to begin and Kagome wondered if he was ever going to take a drink, still, she waited patiently.

Sesshoumaru was impressed. 'The girl has manners. She knows that it is rude to begin eating before the host. Apparently that half breed has not rubbed off on her. I would not tolerate such rudeness in my home.' He had decided that she had waited long enough. He had been testing her to see if she did have manners and indeed she did. He couldn't help but smile inwardly at the thought. He took the first sip, signalling to the others that they could eat.

When Kagome saw him take the first sip she nearly dove into her plate before she realized that it was impolite. She grabbed for her chopsticks and began eating gracefully. She was hungry but she refused to appear impolite. She had been raised to use her manners. She refused to let Sesshoumaru think that Inuyasha had influenced her with his bad behaviour. The food was delicious. It tasted like her mothers home cooking. She was enjoying every bite of it. She nearly forgot to ask what it was that Sesshoumaru was drinking. When she remember, she waited until she had swallowed before asking him.

"Sesshoumaru-samma, please forgive my curiousity, but what is it that you are drinking?" she asked him, trying to word it so that he would not be offended.

After she said that he turned to look at her and stared her down with his golden eyes, which seemed to have oddly become warmer than normal, but were still hard to stare back into. She held her ground against the feeling that she desperately needed to look away. She maintained eye contact until he gave in.

"A demon drink. It allows me to keep my strength." He couldn't believe that he was caving in to a human. A HUMAN! He sighed inaudibly and kept drinking, looking away from the girl who was causing him so much grief. The girl intrigued him. She was strong and she wasn't afraid of him. It almost seemed as though when she spoke to him using a title she was doing it unwillingly. The title did not roll off her tongue well and he almost wished she was just call him by his name. Almost.

Once they had finished eating, Kagome was about to stand and leave the table when Sesshoumaru got her attention first.

"You will spend the afternoon with Rin. I will come for you when your next meal is ready. Once that meal has been eaten you will follow me to the dojo." He said, directing to words to Kagome(Eri: NO DUH!). He had thought this through apparently.

"Ok." Kagome agreed happily. She had to admit, She liked Rin. So did Shippo. They would most likely spend the afternoon playing in the garden. Kagome liked it there. She would teach Rin a little bit of writing and then they would play. She had taught Shippo to read and he was getting quite good at it. She had even brought some books back from her time for him to read. She brought him the ones that she used to read as a child. She would start Rin off the same way she started Shippo. The alphabet. Rin would grow up to be an educated woman. Something that was very rare in this time. She would be unique. A worthy prize for the man of her dreams.

"OOH! KAGOME!" Rin yelled from across the table, causing Kagome to jumped and Sesshoumaru to growl. Her voice had been to shrill for his sensitive ears to handle. She quickly brought her voice back down to a normal level hearing his discomfort.

"Maybe we can play in the garden again? Rin loves the garden!" She asked, hope shining in her eyes. Kagome sighed, she had been planning that already but the look in the girls eyes had made it impossible to do anything else.

"Of course Rin. I will take you and Shippo into the garden. I'll teach you how to read." She said, getting a curious look from Rin.

"Why does Rin need to learn to read?" Rin asked her. She could not figure out why it was so important.

Kagome chuckled at this. "Rin, you may not think so now, but it will come in very handy for you someday. And it will make you different from all the other girls. You will be even more unique." She said with a smile. Her answer delighted Rin and she happily agreed to it.

Sesshoumaru had been watching this exchange. He was pleased with the thought of Kagome teaching Rin to read. She would indeed be a unique girl when she grew up. She would be educated and that was a rarity in itself. 'So bringing the miko here to teach Rin was a good idea. She will learn more than any demon could teach her. Fascinating...' he thought to himself as he continued to watch them talk. No demon could ever teach Rin what she needed to know to live as a human. No demon would ever understand the human mind. He had decided that he had seen enough and rose from the table, causing them both to stop talking and look at him.

"I will leave you know. I shall find you when the next meal is ready." He said emotionlessly and walked out of the room, leaving the four to stare after him.

"Jaken," Kagome said, addressing the toad, "I believe this means you are relieved of your babysitting duties for the day. You may leave now."

Jaken was delighted by the thought of a human free afternoon. He would finally get to relax. Perhaps his Lord would need his assistance on something he thought to be more important. He quickly left the room, excited for what the afternoon might hold for him. Kagome, quite frankly, couldn't have bee happier to be rid of the irritating toad. He was getting on her nerves. She turned back to Shippo and Rin and thought about what they were going to do.

"Ok you two, lets go!" She finally said after what seemed to the children to be hours. She was answered with squeals of pure joy from the children and she couldn't help but laugh. Oh how she wished she was still a child. That something as simple as going to the garden would bring her such joy. She grabbed the children's hands and lead them out to the garden. The role of leader was quickly taken over by Rin. Kagome recognized the path she was taking her in. She was leading her back to Sesshoumaru's favourite spot.

Once they had arrived Kagome had found a tree for them to sit under. She pulled the books out of the small bag she had carried with her. She began to show Rin how to read and Rin was becoming frustrated. The letters did not make sense. Kagome remained calm with her and slowly showed her the entire alphabet. Until she could recite it with a little help. Kagome was quite proud of Rin and Rin herself was beaming with pride. They spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden. Kagome sat under the tree and watched the two play, making sure that they did not get hurt or lost. Surely enough the afternoon passed without any serious injuries. Shippo had fallen and scraped his knee, but Kagome had made it feel better in a matter of minutes and he was back to playing again.

It wasn't long before Kagome felt a familiar presence approaching. Sesshoumaru was coming for them. How he knew that they would be out in this particular spot was beyond her. She just assumed he was using his nose to sniff them out. She sat still and waited for him to arrive. She didn't tell the children. She wanted them to be able to play for as long as possible. When he arrived, Rin was the first to spot him. Her face lit up and she ran to him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Look what I can do! A..B...C...D...E...um..." she had gotten stuck once more and Kagome snuck up behind her and whispered in her ear "F".

"RIGHT! F!"

"Very good Rin." Sesshoumaru said, unable to hide his pride in her, though it was only showing slightly.

Kagome was taken aback. 'Did he just...show emotion? no..It couldn't have been...I'm imagining things...or am I?' Kagome was utterly befuddled by his actions.

"Dinner is being served now. Come with me." He said, reverting back to his usual icyness.

Kagome and the children followed him. Kagome was staring at him from behind. She was trying to figure this demon out. He was different from the others she had fought. He was cold but she would get glimpses of emotions from him. She had seen his anger when he would fight with Inuyasha, but she had never, before today, seen anything that seemed remotely kind. He was being quite nice to her in his home. She was surprised. 'Maybe there is more to him than I first thought...'

"I would suggest you stop staring at me miko." He called out to her from in front.

Kagome blushed deeply. How had he known? Damn it! "Sorry" She apologized.

Sesshoumaru nodded to her very slightly, but she caught it. He had forgiven her.

Dinner had gone much like lunch had. Very little conversation. Kagome was anxious to see what he would be like in the dojo. Would he respect the fact that she was a novice or would he take her down hard? She was a little afraid, but she couldn't wait to find out. It was going to be fun, even if she did get hurt.

Sesshoumaru could smell a hint of fear in Kagome's scent. He wondered what she had to be afraid of. He assumed that she was afraid he was going to hurt her in training but he had no intentions of doing that. His job was to push her limits, not to destroy her completely. He would prove to her tonight that she should not fear him in the dojo. He was not in this to hurt her. He was in it to help her.

When they had finished eating Sesshoumaru summoned a servant to take Rin and Shippo up to Rin's room to play. Shippo would be escorted back to his room when he was tired. Kagome was grateful that Sesshoumaru was having Shippo taken such good care of. It was more than she had expected of him. He was definately an honourable demon. He stood from the table and beckoned her to follow him. He led her back to her room and ordered her to change into her training armour. She did as she was told. She entered the room and as he had promised earlier, he training gear was sitting on her bed waiting for her. It looked like a mixture between Sango's demon slayer outfit and Sesshoumaru's armour. She was trying to figure out how to get it on when she heard an impatient growl from the other side of the door. She was miffed that he was being so impatient. She had never tried to put something like this on before and she had no idea how to do it. She tried to hurry and eventually she figured it out.

Sesshoumaru was becoming impatient. 'Changing should not take so long.' He thought to himself. He growled his impatience to her before he was able to stop himself. He knew that she had probably never worn something like this before and it would take her some time to figure out how to put it on, but he did not expect that it would take so long. He was about to enter her room when the door opened and she stepped out. He nearly gasped at the sight. She was stunning. The fabric fit well to her form and she looked to be a formidable warrior to fight against. He felt his youkai rouse and he did not understand why. This girl was able to stir his beast just by wearing tight clothing? This wasn't right. He would have to rectify this problem. He turned away from her so that he could no longer see him and beckoned her to follow him once more. He led them down the long hallways of the castle and down to the ground floor. He led her out into the courtyard. She was making careful note of how to get to the dojo. He had told her that he would only show her once and apparently he was not a fan of tardiness so if she got lost again, he would not be happy with her.

Kagome was led out to the courtyard. She was following closely. She could see the servants turn to look at her. She could hear their gasps at her looks and she had to suppress a giggle, though it was very difficult. They arrived at a large building and Sesshoumaru led Kagome inside The insides looked just like the old fashioned karate dojo's in her time. 'Must not have changed much over time..' She thought to herself.

"Choose a weapon. Your first lesson will be self defense with a weapon of your choice." Sesshoumaru stated, pointing out his massive collection of weaponry.

Kagome looked closely and carefully at each weapon. She settled on a katana. She pulled it down carefully off the wall. She had once been taught a little bit about using a katana. She knew how to hold it and how to use the simplest defenses but that was all. She pulled it from it's sheath and held it in a defensive stance, staring down Sesshoumaru. He pulled out his tensaiga. He used this sword because he knew that any blow he dealt would not kill the girl or even hurt her. He too took up a fighting stance and stared down Kagome.

"Very well," he said coldly, "Let the training begin."

Eri: OOOOO! CLIFF HANGER! YEAH! lol.sorry, i just wanted to do that. This chappy took ALOT of thought and i'm sorry about it's tardiness. hope it was worth the wait. Please review:)


	12. Sparring

Disclaimer: Same as usual, Inuyasha Char. not mine, Sesshy's servants (not jaken) mine

**Chapter 12: Sparring**

Kagome stood with her eyes intensely focused on her opponent. Sesshoumaru stood in a similar position. They were waiting for each other to strike the first blow. Kagome was getting tired of waiting. The anticipation of the spar was getting to her. She lunged. He dodged. He lunged in return. Kagome quickly dodged his attack and spun herself around to face him, holding her katana defensively in front of her once more. Small beads of sweat were beginning to form on her brow.

'Hmm, she is a quick thinker. I'll have to be on guard with her...' Sesshoumaru thought. He was impressed with how quick on her feet she was. 'She does look good in that gear as well...' He growled to himself, ashamed that he would find himself oggling a human. He drew tensaiga up over his head and leapt forward to attack. She switched to the fifth position of protection to block his attack when he played a false attack and went for her neck, now that he had drawn her sword above her hand and was too far away to be drawn in to block. He swung tensaiga up to her neck and held it there. She was defeated.

Kagome couldn't help but notice the grin that played across his face. He was enjoying her defeat far too much. 'Kami he is sexy when he fights...' Kagome didn't even try to fight away the thought. She had to admit that he looked pretty good. The power thing was working for him.

"You need to think like your opponent. Get into my mind, know my every thought. Try it again." He said, pulling his blade away. He turned his back to her and she was ever so tempted to attack him from behind, but that was not honorable. She restrained herself until he was ready to go again. He turned back to her and drew his sword into position. Kagome decided that this time she would allow him to strike first. She would study his every move to try to figure out what he would do next. He stood patiently staring her down in an attempt to force her to attack first. They stood motionless for a few minutes. He realised what she was doing and was impressed. She was waiting for HIM to attack. She had learned to wait for her opponent. He smirked and lunged forward, long white hair flowing behind him. Kagome had been prepared for his attack and blocked it easily, reciprocating with an attack of her own which he blocked just as easily. She watched his footwork carefully. He was moving mostly with his left. 'Interesting..' Kagome thought to herself. 'If i take out his left, he will lose balance...' Kagome kept this thought in mind as he came at her once more. 'Damn!' He nicked her arm with his blade as she made an attempt to dodge. Luckily he was only using tensaiga.

"Move faster!" He said sternly as he came once more, and she only just dodged it. He was still making most of his turns and jumps with his left.

Kagome decided she had had enough of him attacking her and turned on him gracefully leaping into the air and striking at him. He blocked her attack with his blade. 'Damn, She learns quickly!' He was gaining a new respect for Kagome's intelligence and grace. She could move well. 'It's a wonder that she never tried to train herself with a blade before. I will have to try harder.' Sesshoumaru thought, smiling to himself. 'She is strong. If she were not a human…..No, I must not think about that now. Don't think, just move." He was thinking too much and was nearly nicked by Kagome's katana. He had to admit, the way she moved, her lack of fear, her skill at fighting so early on in the training, He was becoming quite fond of her. He found himself considering more and more that were she not human he would find her to be a worthy mate, as much as it disgusted him that he was thinking that about a human. He lunged towards her and was about to make his attack when she ducked and kicked out his left leg. He hit the ground with a hard, surprised thud. Unfortunately for Kagome he was still too fast for her to pin him. He spun around and stood up, facing her once more.

Kagome was growing weary. She had been fighting with Sesshoumaru for hours. She was getting better at blocking his attacks, but she was slowing down. She could not help it. Her arms were tired as was the rest of her body. She tried to pay attention to Sesshoumaru and his moves but she could not.

Sesshoumaru was tiring as well. Small beads of sweat began to form on his forehead. It had been a long time since he had sparred, let alone with a human girl. She was quite tiring him out. He had underestimated her skills and it was a mistake he would be sure not to make again. He could sense her energy draining quickly. He would fight with her until she had nothing left to give, as he was sure she would fight to the bitter end. He was impressed beyond words. They stood at a stand still. She stood facing him with the most determined look in her eye that he had ever seen from a human. He could almost feel her exhaustion and yet she refused to give in. Her chest was rising and falling with each laboured breath. Her entire body was glowing with her sweat. Sesshoumaru was becoming quite attracted to her. The sight of her was breathe taking. Sesshoumaru felt his beast rising inside him. It growled to free itself, take her and mate with her right here. It took all he had to fight it into submission and it left him breathless.

Kagome became worried. Sesshoumaru was acting very strange. She took a step towards him and quickly regretted it because before she could react she was pinned to the wall, tensaiga at her neck. Sesshoumaru had pinned her. He was staring at her, restraining himself with much effort from ravishing her. It was a losing battle. He dropped his sword from her throat, grabbed the back of her head and drew her into a passionate kiss. Kagome was surprised at first and squealed, before she relaxed into his kiss. He licked her lower lip and she allowed him access to her mouth. She felt as his tongue dove into her moist mouth, past her warm, inviting liips to explore every inch. Sesshoumaru felt her moan in pleasure as he realised what he was doing. It felt so right he didn't want to let her go, but realization that Kagome was a human hit him like a brick wall. He pulled away from her, his sword leaving her neck.He was panting hard.

"We are done for tonight…" he said, drawing back his sword, his voice shaky, his bangs veiling his eyes.

She heard his words, his voice, she knew he had felt something. He sheathed tensaiga and walked away from her, out of the dojo. She followed him with her eyes and she allowed her body to go limp from exhaustion and she landed on her knees on the floor.

'Did that really just happen? Did he really just...kiss me?' Kagome's mind was spinning, both from her attraction to Sesshoumaru and to the questions that his actions had brought.She looked up in time to see him walk out of the dojo. She just sat on the ground shaking, from exhaustion and excitement mixed. She couldn't think clearly any longer. She grasped the wall as she rose to her feet. It was tremendously difficult because her legs were shaking violently. She managed to stand and was about to walk when her legs gave out again. She braced herself for hitting the ground but she felt no hard surface, only someone's arms. She looked up to find herself being held up by a very worried looking Shinsai. Kagome couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you Shinsai. Why did you come here? Didn't Sesshoumaru-samma say that no one was allowed to enter?" Kagome asked him, truly curious as to why he would disobey his master.

"I was waiting outside the castle gates for your reappearance. He arrived at the gates without you and I became worried. When he told me to help you back to the castle I ran as fast as I could to get you." He admitted.

"Sesshoumaru-samma sent you?" 'He IS acting strange...' Kagome asked Shinsai, she was still in shock about what had just happened and it wasn't exactly the smartest question to ever fall out of her lips.

"Yes, he did, are you alright?" He asked her.

"I'm fine, I'm just exhausted, could you please help me to my room?" She asked him trying to sound strong, though it was not working. He merely nodded to her, put his arm around her waist to support her weight and helped her off the floor. "Thanks"

The two walked slowly back to Kagome's room. She was lost in a world of her own thoughts as she was trying to force herself out of them to regain strength to walk without Shinsai doing all the work. She was trying so hard but no matter what she did, Sesshoumaru kept slipping into her mind. Did he feel something when he kissed her? Did he only do it because she was pinned to the wall and he could to rub his victory in? No, that didn't seem like something Sesshoumaru. He was very honorable. He would not stoop to rubbing it in. Was he teasing? No, that wasn't in his character either and the only other option was a very odd thought. He had wanted to...

In her mind, Kagome had come to the conclusion that Sesshoumaru had done that because he wanted to. But why he wanted to was still a mystery to her. He couldn't want her, She's a human. He couldn't...could he?...

By the time they got to Kagome's room, her head was throbbing. She had been thinking too hard and it was getting to her. Shinsai led her into the room and sat her down on the edge of the bed. Kagome looked around for Shippo and nearly panicked when she found he wasn't there. Shinsai sensed her distress and smiled. She truly did have a mother's heart for the kitsune.

"Don't worry Lady Kagome, Shippo is with Rin. The girl insist on having a 'sleep over'. She said that you told her about them and she had to try one." Shinsai reassured her.

Kagome laughed out loud at the thought. She had merely spoken of it in passing when they were playing in the garden but the girl had apparently taken to the idea. She had to admit that she was becoming attached to Rin. She had such charm, she emitted such joy that no one could resist her. Not even the ice prince Sesshoumaru.

"That is alright with me. I will have to tell them that they have to let me know first next time. They nearly gave me a heart attack!" Kagome nearly yelled the last part, but Shinsai just laughed. He understood the frustration. He was always the one who had to protect his brother Renturu when they were younger.

"I would suggest that you get your rest now Lady Kagome. You shall be training again tomorrow most likely and you are definately going to be needing your strength." Kagome groaned at the thought of having to do it all over again. All except the last part. She planted her face into one of the pillows. She was exhausted to no end and she couldn't imagine two days in a row of the same exhaustion.

"Shinsai, could you do me a huge favour?" she said sitting up and putting the sweetest smile on her face that she could.

"Anything."

"In the wardrobe there, could you please bring me something to sleep in?" She asked him. He smiled and nodded to her and got her the most comfortable sleep kimono he could find. He brought it to the bedside.

"Will there be anything else for you tonight?" He asked her sincerely.

"No, thank you Shinsai, I can handle it from here. Sleep well." She said. She waved him off as she said good night. He reciprocated and left the room.

Kagome stared down at the sleep kimono next to her. Changing was going to be a challenge but she most certainly was NOT asking him to help her with that. She would do it alone, no matter how difficult it was. She reached her hands slowly up to her shoulders and undid the armour that rested there, letting it fall onto the bed beside her. She bent over and did the same with her leg armour. The hard part would be getting out of the fabric. She opened it up in the front, allowing herself to be shown to the empty room. Once it was over her shoulders she dropped it to the bed. Her arms were now almost to the point of being useless. She allowed them to rest for a moment before reaching over to grab the comfortable fabric Shinsai had placed next to her. Getting it on was no problem. She crawled slowly into bed. Every movement as painful as the next. She made i into her bed and under the covers. She lay there for quite some time before any sleep took her.

She was still contemplating the days events. 'Why would he kiss me? Was it the heat of the battle? It must have been...' Kagome tried to convince herself that he was merely caught up in the moment but it was to no avail. Truth was she had no idea why he would kiss her, but he was sure that he would regret it because she was a human. Her mind ran out of steam as she fell asleep.

_With Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru walked out of the dojo towards the castle. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He, Sesshoumaru, had just kissed a human girl! A HUMAN GIRL! And the thing that disturbed him the most was that he had liked it. He had enjoyed it. He wanted to do it again. There was something in her scent that was so attractive. Something about the way she looked, spoke, acted, and even walked that he found he could not resist. He tried being cold hearted. He tried to deny that he was feeling anything and he had failed horribly. He growled at himself. He could not get his thoughts off the girl he had left huddled on the dojo floor. He longed to go back to her, take her up in his arms and carry her to her bed and just the thought that he wanted that angered him. He was losing control over his emotions.

As he approached the castle he saw one of his kitsune servants standing outside the gates waiting for him. 'Perfect, I shall send him to assist Kago...the miko.' he thought grinning to himself that he had found a way to help her without himself actually going. He kept his pace and walked towards the gate. As he passed the kitsune he coldly said "Assist the girl back to her room" and kept walking. He made his way into the castle and found his way to his study, the only place he felt he could truly think, uninterrupted. He locked the door behind him and sat down at his desk. He rested his elbows on the table with his face in his hands. 'What's happening to you Sesshoumaru? Two weeks ago you wouldn't have cared what state you left her in, let alone kiss her.' He was ashamed of himself. He had lost control of his emotions. 'This girl, she has…done something. I...feel... Damn it!' Sesshoumaru pounded his fist on the desk. He didn't like the thought that the miko was changing him. 'She is a human girl. I can't feel anything for her, and yet I have this burning desire to take her...' He was left raw from all his emotions. He was exhausted.

Just then he smelled Kagome's scent in the hallway. She was with Shinsai. He wanted more than anything to get rid of the servant and help her himself, but he would not. He stood up and crept to the door. He pressed his forehead against it as he heard her door open, the two weren't saying anything. He felt the servant guide her inside and suddenly felt Kagome's distress. He growled low, fearing that Shinsai was doing something to her but shortly after heard his voice explaining where the young kitsune was. He sighed and stepped out of his study. He stood outside the door, waiting for Shinsai to take his leave of her. 'Why am I doing this? What do I care what happens to the girl?' He couldn't believe he was actually (Eri: dare I say it?) worried about the human. 'Why did I give in to my foolish desires in the dojo? Damn it...' Shinsai stepped out of her room, breaking his thoughts.

"I trust that she is well?" Sesshoumaru asked, managing to keep a cold tone with the servant.

"She is, milord." Shinsai answered with a bow, waiting for him to say that he may leave.

"..." Sesshoumaru said nothing but simply walked away. Shinsai took this as a sign that he was able to leave and did so quickly.

Sesshoumaru walked the long halls towards his room. He was forcing himself with every step he took. He was drained of all the energy he had. He only just made it into his room before collapsing on the bed. His muscles were sore and his mind was spinning from all the emotions, causing a very large headache. He lay on the bed, in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position, and fell asleep.

_The Next Morning_

Kagome woke up to the feeling of her bed moving. She opened her eyes, rather worriedly, to find that there were two small children jumping on her bed. She groaned and rubbed her forehead.

"What are you guys doing up so early?" she asked looking out the window. The sun was only just over the horizon.

"We couldn't sleep any more. We wanted to tell you about our sleep over last night!" shippo shouted excitedly, still jumping on the bed.

Kagome sat up and brought the children to sit with her at her end of the bed. The boucing was making her feel sick.

"Ok you two, what did you do last night?" She asked sweetly.

"Rin and Shippo coloured and stayed up REALLY late! And Rin fell off the bed during the night and Shippo laughed at her." Rin said, she was obviously feeling hyper. Kagome laughed at the girls excitement. She wished she was still so young, still had something to get that excited about. It had been a long time since she had gotten that excited and the last time she felt anything close was last night. Kagome began to blush deeply. 'Now isn't the time to think about that Kagome!' she mentally cursed herself for thinking about it. She turned her attentions back to the children.

"It was fun! Can we do it again tonight Okaa-chan? PLEASE?" Shippo looked at her with his most innocent face and she just couldn't refuse. She had to admit, she had enjoyed the night alone.

"Ok, but you two have to promise me that when you two are going to have sleep overs you have to let me know first. I got really scared when you weren't in here last night Shippo." Kagome said, making her point very clear to the children, who nodded their understanding.

"Ok, well, I would suggest that you two go back to Rin's room and get dressed. We're going down for breakfast soon. I'll come and get you when it's time to go. Ok?" Kagome told the children, partly because she wanted to get dressed and partly because she wanted a moment alone to think. They agreed and ran out of the room, racing back to Rin's room.

The door was still open when they ran out and Kagome groaned to herself and got out of the bed to close the door. Her legs were very stiff from sparring. She walked over to the door and closed it. She wasn't about to get changed with the door open. She went to the wardrobe. She was amazed at all the beautiful kimono's that Sesshoumaru had provided her with and they were all made to fit her body perfectly. 'Hmm, there is definately something different about him from what I thought...' Her mind wandered back to the night before. The feel of his soft yet strong lips against hers. The feel of the silky strands of his hair falling onto her face. His clawed hand on the back of her head. The sensation of his tongue working the inside of her mouth. 'Oh no! I'm blushing! Ahh! Kagome, stop thinking about it! He's a demon, and he hates humans. There is no point fantasizing because it will never work!' Kagome found herself blushing a deep red. She couldn't believe she was thinking about it AGAIN. It seemed that no matter what she did she ended up thinking about it. She would have to change that. She picked out the most beautiful Kimono in the closest. It was a light pink colour, the sleeves decorated with sky blue dragons. It was gorgeous! She fell in love with it immediately. She dressed herself in it and left the room to retrieve the children.

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Eri: yea, there we go, the first contact! yea baby! that one was fun to write. Keep posted, next ones in the works!


	13. A New Flame

Disclaimer: Gee it gets irritating writing the same thing here over and over again. Inuyasha Characters not mine, Sesshy's servants mine

**Chapter 13: A New Flame**

As Kagome walked out of her room, she could here the children laughing in the next room. She was still sore from the previous days events but her strength was completely replenished. Her dreams had been focused around one of the previous days event. It was quite obvious to her why. He had kissed her. There was no hostility in the kiss, it was just, a kiss. A passionate kiss. That's what had her so curious. There had been passion. It was unmistakable. They had both wanted that kiss, both desired it. What she couldn't understand was why he would want it. He hated humans so why would he wanted to share such a passionate kiss with one? Maybe he was curious as to what it would be like. No, she was sure that it wasn't that. He had wanted it and the only way she could find out why was to ask him. She blushed at the thought of talking to him about it.

Kagome snapped out of her thoughts to find herself standing in the hallway outside of her room. She must have not moved since she heard the children laugh. She took the few short steps to there room and opened the door. The two had dressed themselves in their usual outfits and were colouring happily in Shippo's colouring book when she walked in. They looked up at her and smiled.

"Is it time to go downstairs now, Okaa-chan?" Shippo asked excitedly, getting up from his place on the floor.

"Yes, Sweetie, it's time to go downstairs. Are you both ready?" she asked, directing the question to both children. They both nodded and raced towards the door. They were about to run out of the room when Kagome stopped them.

"Don't run indoors you two! You'll end up getting hurt. I used to do it alot as a kid and look" She said exposing a scar on her left shoulder blade, "I ran down the stairs and fell, cutting my shoulder open. It's not a good idea!" She said. This was one way of explaining why they shouldn't do it. At least the bad experience would come in handy to stop these two from having to go through it. The children stopped their actions immediately. They saw her scar and both agreed that it looked painful and didn't want one of their own.

The three of them walked down to the dining hall together at a more acceptable pace. They arrived to find the room ready for them. The curtains were drawn back, allowing the mornings first rays of light to shine through, illuminating the room. Their places had been set and the only thing seemed to be missing was Sesshoumaru. She had not seem him since their little...training session...in the dojo. (Eri: hehe, wasn't exactly sure what to call it.) Kagome was both relieved and disappointed to see that he wasn't there. Had he been there, there would have been an awquard silence and Kagome would have been blushing most of the time. Him not being there, well, the table just felt empty. She sighed as she took her place at the table. It only took a short time for the servants to bring the food to them. There was more food than Kagome knew what to do with. There were fruits of all kinds, breads, and almost anything else she could have thought of. Kagome watched as the children grabbed their food first. Rin chose an apple and someone the juice that the servants provided her with, along with some little pieces of bread. Shippo went for mostly fruit and at that, mostly the berries. 'One would have thought that after so long of eating berries in the forest he would be sick of them by now...' Kagome thought to herself. She decided that she would eat an orange and some bread with the butter that was provided. It was delicious. She took a bite out of her apple when she heard the door to the dining hall swing open. She spun around to see Sesshoumaru standing in a greyish-blue outfit, much like his white one, but without any armour.

Kagome silently gasped and spun back around to face her food. She was turning a light pink from her embarrassement. She began to pay her apple a little more attention than it deserved. She refused to allow herself to look at him right now. She would only end up blurting out something stupid or starring at him, making him think she was a total lunatic. No. The apple would suffice for now.

Sesshoumaru woke up before the dawn. He sat up and immediately he was able to smell the sweat that had been allowed to dry on his body over night. He scrunched his nose up at the smell. It was horrible. It would not do. He got out of his bed feeling completely refreshed. 'This Sesshoumaru does not normally need to sleep. This Kagome is having a greater affect on me than I thought possible.' He thought to himself. He immediately headed down to the hot springs only stopping to grab a change of clothing for when he was done.

He reached the bathing room to find that he was totally alone. He walked over to the bench where he had sat while waiting for Kagome before and placed the belongings he carried on it. He proceeded to remove his kimono. The hakama and bottoms came next. Before long, Sesshoumaru stood nude. He slipped into the cold water bath. He grabbed the soap that he had brought with him. He lathered up his body, allowing the bubbles to travel down his hard abs. The bubbles felt nice to him, relaxing. The scent of the soap was beginning to replace that of sweat, calming him some more. He dipped his entire body under the water to rinse off. He could not wait to get into the hot springs because this water was too cold for his liking. Had he not been able to control himself he would have shivered. He glanced over to the edge of the pool as he noticed a strange bottle sitting there. He swam over to it and picked it up. He read the bottle and it said "Herbal Essences Revitalizing Shampoo" on it. He was curious to find out what it was so he flipped the bottle over. He read the back and realized that this substance was used to clean your hair with. He assumed it had been Kagome's since it smelled of apples. He sniffed once at the bottle and attempted to open it. The bottle was tricky indeed. He managed to find out how to flip the lid open and poured some of the "shampoo" onto his hand. He was unsure whether or not he would actually use it. It smelled of the girl and in using it he would have her scent around him until he managed to wash it out. He decided to take the chance anyways. He lathered it into his hair and found the sensation to be quite pleasing(Eri: no, i'm not breaking out in a herbal essences commercial here. lol). He used his hands to spred the shampoo throughout his hair. The scent was overwhelming his senses and he nearly panicked in an effort to get it out. He found it to be more difficult than he had expected. It took him a while to remove it all but once he had he breathed a sigh of relief.

He pulled himself up the edge of the pool and walked towards the hot springs, still completely nude.He walked into the hot springs and chose the largest spring, which coincedentally was the one that he usually used. He slipped into the water, the steam rising off the water surrounding him and condensing into small water droplets on his skin. He found the spot where he normally sat in the water.

'Kagome doesn't seem like a human.' He thought to himself 'I admit that I enjoyed kissing her yesterday. She is unlike any other human I have ever met. She isn't afraid. She is strong and she seems to see right through me, to my very core. Damn it. What am I reducing myself to? sigh She would make a great mate, but it would ruin my reputation and what would the OTHER demon lord's think? sigh this is all too complicated. She is making me feels things I haven't felt since before my mother was killed.' Sesshoumaru snapped out of thoughts and realized that he was growling. He could still smell her intoxicating scent, still feel her soft lips on his, he could still hear that soft, gentle moan of pleasure she released as she relaxed into his kiss. The entire day would be a waste of his time if he couldn't get her off his mind. He sighed once more and decided to leave the hot springs. Kagome would be in the dining hall and he needed to speak with her. That would be the only way to clear his thoughts, or so he thought.

He stepped out of the water and into his change of clothes. He could still smell the shampoo in his hair. It was pleasing to him, but it was doing him no good when it came to clearing his thoughts of Kagome. It only proved to make things worse and he regretted his earlier decision to use it. He did his best to ignore it but it was not working, so he decided to give up and simply make it look as though there was nothing wrong. He tied his long hair back to dry it. It felt uncomfortable to him so he dropped it back down. He walked at his normal pace out of the hot springs, making his way to the dinner hall. He could smell her there. Kagome was in the dining hall and so were the children. 'Hmm, this should be interesting. I shall see her reaction to my presence. I wonder what she thought about last night...No. Do not think about that. Now is not the time. Think about that later Sesshoumaru.' His mind was still spinning with his thoughts. He had to speak with her today. He just had to.

When he walked into the room he saw Kagome. She glanced at him, her face turned beat red and she spun back around and stared at her apple. Sesshoumaru nearly laughed at the sight. He walked to his seat at the table and sat down, ordering a servant to bring him what he needed. The servant agreed and quickly disappeared from sight. He studied Kagome out of the corner of his eye for a moment before he spoke.

"Good Morning, Kagome"

His words shocked Kagome. 'Did he just...ACK! Answer Kagome! ANSWER!' "Um, Good morning Sesshoumaru-sama" her words were shaky as she was unsure how to respond, as strange as that seemed. She had never heard Sesshoumaru greet someone in a way that was not a command, let alone actually use her name. She found herself blushing even more than before and it did not go unnoticed by Sesshoumaru.

'So, she enjoyed last night.' Sesshoumaru allowed for a small smile to play his lips and Kagome noticed it. "Sesshoumaru-sama, would it be possible to...um...speak with you in private at some point today?" 'CRAP! KAGOME WHAT ARE YOU DOING!' Kagome couldn't believe what she had let fall from her lips.

"..." Sesshoumaru's silence was only making things worse for Kagome. She was anxious to hear his answer.

"As you wish Kagome. After you bathe." Sesshoumaru stated.

Kagome had not had the chance to bathe since last night and Sesshoumaru could smell the sweat on her. Kagome herself felt disgusting. She did not like feeling dirty. She had heard Sesshoumaru's words and it nearly put her into a blood rage.

"Hey! I know I smell bad but you don't have to say anything! I was going to bathe after breakfast anyways!" she yelled at him. 'OH CRUD! Now I'm actually yelling at Sesshoumaru! ACK! That's it. I'm dead. He's going to killl me. I'm going to die now. Goodbye Shippo." Kagome was mentally preparing herself for Sesshoumaru to hurt her while keeping up a brave front. The reaction she got from Sesshoumaru was quite the opposite from what she had expected. He laughed. Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Icicles laughed! The sound nearly made Kagome melt on the spot. It was a full, hearty laugh. Deep and gorgeous. She couldn't believe how different he was being.

Sesshoumaru found her actions to be quite enjoyable and found himself unable to restrain his laughter. For some reason, he found himself not caring that she was a human any longer. 'I must win this girls heart. The other Lord's can say what they wish. She will be mine. She is strong of body, mind and will. She will make a great mate someday.' He saw her reaction to his laughter and it made him want to laugh harder. She was truly amusing. He recovered his stoic mask and attempted to speak with her in his usual manner, but it was not working. He looked around to see if anyone was watching and dropped the mask once more. He would allow Kagome and the children to see the real Sesshoumaru, but no one else.

Kagome was amazed to say the least. She looked at Sesshoumaru with wide eyes. He was so different this morning. She knew now that he had meant last nights kiss. It wasn't a fluke. She could see it in his eyes. There was something...warm. Something that had not been there before. Was this the real Sesshoumaru she was seeing? The one that he had to hide around everyone else? She assumed that he had feelings because he had shown signs of hatred before, but she never expected to see him treat her like this because she was, well, human. He was being kind, laughing, and showing emotions he had never shown her before. She had completely forgotten about Inuyasha. No one else in the world seemed to matter to her right now. Only Sesshoumaru. She began to laugh at her own thoughts. She never imagined in her wildest dreams that one day she would be thinking about him like this.

Just then, they were interrupted by a servant running in. He was out of breath and wounded. Kagome's heart dropped at the sight of the injured servant. It was Shinsai. While Sesshoumaru was putting his stoic mask back on Kagome ran to the kitsune.

"What happened to you? Are you alright?" She asked, worriedly, wrapping an arm around his waist to help him to a chair.

"I'll be alright. Lord Sesshoumaru, there is a pack of Neko's heading this way. They are after Kagome. They say she carries shards of the Shikon no tama!" He said, nearly panicking, "I tried to stop them but they got the upper hand. They are coming straight for us!"

Kagome heard his words and ran from his side out of the room, leaving the room's four occupants to stare after her curiously. Kagome ran up to her room and grabbed her bow and arrow, the katana Sesshoumaru was training her with, and the jewel shards. She ran back down to the dining hall but she was stopped by Sesshoumaru, who had somehow changed into his armour before she even had the chance to go up and down the stairs. He put his hands on her arms to steady her. The impact of bumping into him nearly made her fall.

"Kagome, You shall stay here. It is you that they want and I will not let them get you." Sesshoumaru said, sternly, but not coldly.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, i'm flattered that you want to protect me, but like it or not this is my fight too. I am coming with you." She responded, equally as sternly as he had. Sesshoumaru smiled softly to her, barely exposing the tips of his fangs. She was a worthy human indeed.

"Do as you wish, Kagome." He was becoming quite fond of saying that to her, as he could see that it was about just as amusing to her as it was to him. She nodded to him, confident in her abilities as a miko. The two quickly made their way to the gates of the castle. Sesshoumaru had told the children that they must stay behind. Jaken was left to watch them. Much to Kagome's surprise, he had cared for the children's safety, refusing to allow them to come along. The two ran from the castle, Sesshoumaru far ahead of Kagome due to his demon abilities. Kagome did not see this as her weakness, rather a strength. Sesshoumaru would arrive much earlier and the neko's would think he was the only one coming and when they least expected it, Kagome would arrive and purify the hell outta the place, quite literally. Her plan would work perfectly because she was the only one who knew about it. (Eri: MuHaHaHaHa! cough cough sorry bout that, momentary laps of evil, back to normal now. Going to keep writing). She drew her speed down to a jog. She would need to distance herself from him further for her plan to succeed. And succeed it would. She refused to let it fail. It would mean their lives. She was sure that Sesshoumaru had already become suspicious of her lack of speed and figured out her plan.

Kagome had been in many battles before and this time she refused to allow herself to be seen as the damsel in distress. She would fight as a strong warrior, not some girl that barely knows how to hold her weapon. She would not let Sesshoumaru have all the fun. She grinned to herself. This time she had to protect herself. She looked down at her waist to the katana she had strapped there. She may not have mastered it yet, but she was pretty damn good. Should she need to, she would be able to handle close combat now. She found herself getting quite excited to fight, which was very odd for her. She always hated fighting, but this was a chance to prove herself. To prove that she was not some weak girl but she could handle herself. 'These neko's think they can kidnap me? HA! Think again!' She grinned to herself and slowed even further. She knew that Sesshoumaru could handle himself and he would not need her presence there instantly. She had almost all the time in the world right now.

Sesshoumaru could smell the neko demons. There were alot of them, varying in strength. He could also smell that Kagome was far behind him. He knew what she was thinking, as she wasn't running as fast as she possibly could. She was going to allow the neko's to think that only he was fighting, before arriving and doing some damage of her own. 'Smart girl.' He thought to himself. It was a brilliant plan. He would make sure that it worked. 'Kagome, you truly do know how to handle a battle. I have misjudged you.' He smirked to himself as he ran faster, giving them more time between his arrival and hers. 'I will court her. I must.' His thoughts were truly astounding him. He was beyond considering mating her. He wanted her. He needed her. The only way he was going to get her was to court her and hope that she would choose him as her mate.

Sesshoumaru heard the demons nearing and decided to wait until they arrived to him, seeing as how they were so close anyways. He stopped dead in his tracks and rested his hand on Tokijin's hilt. The battle would prove to be interesting and he would most definately not allow them to take his Kagome. The thought of them taking her from him nearly sent him into a blood rage but he controlled himself. Her plan would not work if his demon form killed her the moment she stepped onto the battle field. His eyes had changed to red for the briefest moment before he regained his icy demeanour. He stood in wait. The neko's coming nearer by the second. He could feel every last one of them. By the way it seemed, they were arranged from weakest in the front to the strongest in the back. 'This should be interesting...' Sesshoumaru thought as he drew tokijin and readied himself for the battle that was so close at hand.

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Eri: Sorry that this chapter is so short. Don't worry, next one is coming real soon! I couldn't very well have the big battle scene randomly placed in another chapter basedabout their"sparks" could I? NO! I WILL NOT ALLOW IT! lol. sorry, well, lemme know what you think.


	14. Neko vs Miko

Disclaimer: Inuyasha Characters not mine, Sesshy's servants(minus jaken) mine. So is the evil neko(Read on to find out name and reason, muhaha!)

**Chapter 14: Neko vs. Miko**

Sesshoumaru stood still, the only movement was the wind moving a few random strands of his hair. The more he waited, the angrier he became at these worthless demons. They were trying to hurt his Kagome. He would not allow it. He would tear each neko limb from limb if he had to. He narrowed his eyes and tensed his muscles. He was fighting back his anger. Going feral was not a good idea. He would not be able to control himself and he needed to keep in control. He felt the neko's stop. 'Hmm, so they have finally figured out that I am here have they?' Sesshoumaru was actually surprised that it had taken them so long. From what he could tell, there were at least 50 neko's. He was almost considering stepping closer to them but his thoughts were interrupted by their sudden movement.

The neko commander ordered them to charge at him, and charge they did. Sesshoumaru took one stirke one of his sword, killing 6 of the weakest. One of the stronger neko's ran from the back of the force to attack him. Sesshoumaru dodged the attack and played one of his own. The neko dodged the attack but his left arm was injured by tokijin. He stumbled back, holding his arm. Rage filled his eyes as he watched Sesshoumaru killing his weaker comrades. 'This DOG is killing my friends! Damn him! He will pay for this!' the neko charged at Sesshoumaru while he back was turned, assuming he had the upper hand. It was a fatal mistake. Sesshoumaru sensed him coming before he got there and with one swift swing of his sword he decapitated the demon.

Kagome was approaching from behind. She had heard the steel of his blade slicing through flesh and clashing with other blades. The battle had begun. She wasn't about to let Sesshoumaru have all the fun. She raced forward to join him. No one would see her as weak. She would not allow it. She ran as fast as she could. The battle was still a good distance away and she would have to make up that distance quickly.

Sesshoumaru could feel Kagome approaching. He fought even harder in an attempt to keep their attention on him so that they would not notice her yet. He sheathed tokijin and decided the tear them apart with his poison whip. The crack of his whip was so loud that Kagome felt as though he were standing right in front of her. The more neko's Sesshoumaru killed, the stronger he had to deal with. He was doing an amazing job of killing them. To any onlooker, it would have just seemed as thought one man were destroying an entire army by himelf.

The neko commander had it's eyes trained on Sesshoumaru. The foul demon knew who Sesshoumaru was and he was posing a large threat to their mission. The demon was about to attack Sesshoumaru when it sensed another presence coming their way. The commander raised it's head and ran in the direction of the approaching hostile presence.

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. One of the neko's had gotten past Sesshoumaru. A strong one. 'Damn! This ruins my plan! I must killed it so it can't inform the others.' Kagome thought to herself, notching an arrow on her bow. She drew the string back and prepared to fire on the demon the second it was in sight. It was approaching fast. It knew she was there. It was coming for her. Kagome looked around her to see how she could use her environment in the fight and decided that she should hide until it arrived and use the element of surprise. She found the largest tree that she could and hid behind it's trunk, on the opposite side from the demon. She made sure her katana was securely tucked into her belt, she would certainly be needing it and she wanted to make sure that it would not fall from her waist before she was able to draw it. Now it was only a matter of time. She remained as quiet as possible in hopes that the demon would not know her exact location. She once again examined her surroundings. There were many trees she could use to shield herself, thin branches she could shoot down should she desperately need to, and many low branches she could use as climbing posts. She was pleased that she could take advantage of her surroundings should she need to.

Kagome closed her eyes, concentrating on the demon approaching. It was near. Too near for comfort. She blocked out all sounds and waited to strike. She heard the demon as it ran out into the open behind her and she jumped out, pointing her sacred arrow at the demon. She was shocked to find the demon was a beautiful demoness. Long golden hair, green feline eyes and a perfectly clear complexion. The woman stood still, looking un surprised.

"Ah, so YOU are the miko who carries the jewel shards. Hand them over and I might just spare your life." The demoness spoke to her, a low hiss in her voice.

"And just who do you think you are? I will NOT hand over the shards. You want them, you have to come get them from me." Kagome drew her arrow back further in her bow, a determined look playing her face. She would not give in to this demon, not this time.

"Very well, my name is Redishikyo. Now, for those SHARDS!" she charged towards Kagome, claws pointed directly at her throat.

Kagome shrieked and dodged the attack. 'Damn, she is too fast for me to use my arrows.' Kagome thought, throwing her bow aside and drawing the katana. She dodged another attack and twisted her body around to face the neko.

"Why do you want the jewel shards?" she demanded in between attacks and dodges. Before she was able to dodge it, Redishikyo had spun around and attacked once more. This time her claws made contact with flesh. She drove them into Kagome's arm and Kagome writhed in pain. She slashed at Redishikyo's arm with her katana in response. The demoness let go before the blade made any contact of it's own.

"If you must know, they aren't for me." the demon just barely dodged Kagome's katana while speaking. She was getting to close for comfort so the neko dodged into the trees, out of sight from Kagome. She jumped from tree to tree keeping her eyes on Kagome. "My cluster is being attacked by a white baboon demon. He spoke with our elders who were attempting to ...nagotiate with him. He told them that the only way to save the cluster would be to kill you and take your shards, so I am here to do just that." She said, still hiding in the trees.

'So,' Kagome thought, 'Naraku is behind this then. I should've known as much.'

Kagome was following her voice. She could hear the leaves rustle as Redishikyo moved from tree to tree. She could hear her voice as she continued to move. It worried her a fair amount when she stopped speaking and moving. Kagome could no longer tell exactly where she was or what she was doing. She stood in absolute silence, katana at the ready. She was becoming more nervous with every passing second of silence. She heard a rustle from behind her and spun around to protect herself when she found that it was too late. The neko had her by the throat and the two toppled to the ground. Kagome couldn't breathe. Redishikyo was squeezing her neck hard, her claws digging into Kagome's neck causing her to bleed. She scratched at her hand in a futile attempt to free herself, which only caused Redishikyo to squeeze harder.

"It will not work human. You are weak, now let me see, where are those shards..." the demoness allowed her free hand to search Kagome for the shards.

Kagome squirmed and managed to free herself just enough to let out a blood curdling scream.

_Back to Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru had heard the neko pass him. He had assumed it was one of the soldiers to he allowed it to pass. Surely Kagome could handle one of these weak soldier neko's that he was so easily killing. He continued to slaughter the demons. One by one they fell to the ground, be it by his poison whip or his claws. He looked around and realised that the neko commander was no longer there. He had not killed that demon so... Sesshoumaru's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Kagome's scream.

He panicked and ran towards her. 'That neko that passed me! It was the commander! Damn it!' Sesshoumaru cursed himself for allowing such a thing to happen. He ran full speed towards her. He could smell her blood and he could barely contain himself. He wanted to kill that neko. 'If he hurt a hair on Kagome's head, he will die a slow and painful death!' What he saw when he arrived did no less than leave him speechless.

_Back to Kagome_

Kagome's vision was becoming blurry. She was getting extremely angry at Redishikyo because she could not free herself. She felt her anger growing and something else deep down inside her, rising to the surface. She wrapped both of her hands around Redishikyo's hand at her throat and focused all her energy into her hands. Her entire body began to glow and light pink and from her hands, a bright blue light was sent through Redishikyo's body, sending her though the air. She broke three trees before the fourth only finally stopped her. Her body was shaking from the blast and she place where Kagome's hands had lain on her hand was severely burnt. She stook up, shaken and terrified. She looked from her hand to the now blacked out Kagome, horrified to see that Sesshoumaru now stood over her. Redishikyo ran in the other direction as fast as she could.

Sesshoumaru starred after her. He would have chased after her had he not needed to take the unconcious Kagome back to the castle for healing. She appeared to have taken a beating. Her arm was bleeding badly as was her neck. 'Damn that neko.' He thought as he picked her in up in his arms. "Hold on Kagome." He spoke aloud to her, surprising even himself. He was grateful that there had been no one around to hear him. This was so unlike him. He held her close to his chest. He could hear her heartbeat, her breathing. He could feel her warm breath on his neck and he had to admit that had these been better circumstances, he would have very much enjoyed it. He summoned his youkai cloud and flew them at top speed towards the castle.

Sesshoumaru was genuinely worried for her. He couldn't explain the sudden change he had felt towards her. It was almost as if his entire being had changed around her. He had never expected to give in to a human so easily. To trust a human so easily. But here he was, attempting to court one, holding her so tenderly in his arms, truly worrying for her safety. 'Damn. What has become of me. I've gone...soft.' he had never thought that one day he would think those words, but then it seemed that he was doing everything he never thought he would.

Before long they had made it back to the castle. Kagome had still not regained conciousness. Many of the servants had rushed over to assist them. Sesshoumaru ignored their requests to take her off his hands and had them each get different supplies that she would be in need of.

'How did she do that? She is much stronger than I thought...' Sesshoumaru thought, staring down and her peaceful, scratched up face. She had shown such extreme power. If she had wanted to, she could have easily purified that demoness but she didn't. For some reason she held back. She showed mercy. 'Damn it Kagome. Why didn't you just kill her? Why did they want those pieces of stone anyways?' Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't right. The nekos did not seem to have any reason to desire the shards, so what would cause them to risk so many of their cluster to get them? Kagome might have some answers or at least a new idea as to why they wanted them. He brought her up to her room and placed her gently on the bed. He gently moved away the strands of hair that had fallen across her face. She looked so beautiful as the days sun shown in through the window and onto her face.

He was becoming inpatient with his servants, he had ordered them to bring supplies to clean her up and bandage her would but they had not arrived. He knew it had only been a few minutes since he had requested them, but he desperately wanted to care for her and he could do nothing without those supplies. He began to pace in the room, from the door to the window. At long last a servant arrived with a cold compress. Sesshoumaru nearly snatched it from his hands. He quickly went to Kagome's side and began to clean her face ever so gently. He wiped the cloth carefully down her soft skin, removing much of the dirt with one wipe. He took great care to not harm her while her cleansed the injured parts of her face. He slowly began to clean dirt and blood of other parts of her body. First her neck, then what was exposed of her chest. Next came her arms. He made his way down to where the neko had dug her claws in and became even more gentle touched. He held her arm gently with one hand while using the other to clean her up. When the cloth made it's way over the wound she stirred, a pained expression across her face. Sesshoumaru stopped, moving the cloth away from her skin and waited until she was settled once more.

He tried again but to no avail. Everytime he made an effort, she slept lighter. It was only a matter of time before it woke her up. He decided that she would end up waking anyways and he would allow her to sleep afterwards. For now, these wounds needed to be tended and if she had to be awake, so be it. He placed the cloth back on her wound. He regretted that it may wake her, but it needed to be down. The second the cloth touched her skin, her eyes fluttered open. She stared blankly at the demon lord while she waited for her vision to focus. When it did, she saw that he was tending to her arm. A sharp pain shot up from the wound and she winced but held strong. She looked around the room. They were the only two there. That explained why he was being so caring. No one could see him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama? How did I get back to the castle? You didn't have to save me from the neko did you?" She asked him, she was ashamed that he might say yes. Ashamed that she might have become the damsel in distress once again.

"I carried you back to the castle, but you saved yourself." He said to her. He found it to be a suiting answer because it was pure and simple truth. He glanced up into her confused eyes and smiled. "You used an amazing amount of miko powers. I have not seen such power from a human before. You defeated her on your own, but she still lives."

"You allowed her to live? Why?" Kagome asked him. He was truly amazing her right now.

"It was a matter of killing her or helping you. I believe you know my choice." He answered her. He could feel Kagome's gaze on him turn from confused to touched. He smiled to himself while looking down at her arm. It looked as though it pained her. He slowly leaned down and licked her arm. Kagomeat first wimpered from the pain it had caused but the more he did it, the less it hurt. In fact, it began to feel quite good.

"What are you doing?" Kagome asked him, completely baffled by his actions.

"Healing you." He answered between licks.

"Thank you." Kagome said, ever so quietly. The answer she received was a small nod from Sesshoumaru. She could not help herself. She placed her other hand on his head. He was surprised and lifted his head to meet her eyes, her hand trailing to his face. "Sesshoumaru-sama, may I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"In the dojo...you kissed me. Why?" She was shy to ask the question. She was afraid of what the answer might be, although she was unsure of why she was afraid.

"..." Sesshoumaru thought about her question. Her looked away from her, but he didn't move his head away from her hand. "I did it because I wanted to."

"But why did you want to? Don't you hate humans?" She asked him, dropping her hand to her side slowly.

"This Sesshoumaru does not hate ALL humans."

"Sure coulda fooled me..."Kagome mumbled under her breath, forgetting that he could hear it. Sesshoumaru chuckled and Kagome blushed when she realised that he had heard.

Once he had finished licking her arm Kagome was shocked to find her arm had completely healed. She lifted her arm away from him and stared at it, flexing her muscles. It was slightly red still but aside from that, it was fine. She blinked in amazement and stared up at Sesshoumaru who stared back. Kagome smiled softly at him to thank him. He understood immediately and no words were needed for the exchange of thanks. Sesshoumaru rose from her side.

"Rest. We resume your training tomorrow." He said, trying to seem emotionless but failing. He glanced at her once and walked out of the room, replacing the stoic mask back on his face.

Kagome watched as the oh so confusing demon left the room. She sighed deeply looking down at her hands and arms. Both had done something she had not expected. Sesshoumaru had healed one arm by licking it and the other hand she had placed on his face. Her emotions were far too confusing, as were his. She was feeling something for this demon that she had never expected she could, and if she wasn't mistaken, he was definately feeling something too. She sat on the edge of the bed and touched her fingers to her lips. She could still remember the feeling of his lips on hers and found herself longing for that feeling again. She looked towards the balcony. She knew Sesshoumaru had told her to rest, but she had too much to think about. She rose to her feet and walked slowly out onto the balcony. The sun was going down. She couldn't believe that so much of the day had gone by.

Sesshoumaru was walking in the garden below Kagome's balcony. The sun was setting and Rin and Shippo were playing in the garden. The two had spent most of the day inside so he decided to allow them some time to play. He became aware of Kagome's scent and glanced up to her balcony to see her standing, leaning on the railing staring up at the sun setting sky, the days last rays of light casting beautiful shades of pink and orange to dance across her skin. 'Kami she is beautiful...' Sesshoumaru had become entirely distracted by her. She had not noticed him yet. She began to sing.

_Never knew I could feel like this_

_It's like I've never seen the sky before_

_Want to vanish inside your kiss_

_Everyday I need you, more and more._

_Listen to my heart_

_Can you hear it say?_

_It's telling me to give you everything_

_Seasons may change_

_Winter to spring_

_But I'll love you_

_Till the end of time_

_Come what may, Come what may _

_I will love you_

_Until my dying day_

"Oh, If only you knew Sesshoumaru..."

His heart lept at her words. He wanted to howl in victory, but she had not known he had heard. Her words spoke straight to his heart. Her voice was angelic and it had calmed even the beast inside him. Her eyes sparkled and he could not supress a smile. She was beautiful in every way, even though she defied his orders to rest. He continued to watch her until she sighed and returned inside. He turned and walked to the children.

"Go back inside, now. I have business I must attend to." He said sternly. The children listened to him and ran off to the castles nearest entrance.

Once they were inside Sesshoumaru summoned his youkai cloud and took off into the sky.

_Back to Kagome_

Kagome stood on the balcony and all the feelings she had inside began to well up. She felt so strongly for Sesshoumaru. He was so different from what she had seen in the past. What she felt for him was different from what she had felt for Inuyasha. She couldn't explain it, but it was so much stronger. Sesshoumaru was being kind hearted, he was patient, he wasn't rude, he didn't call her names. He was straight forward with her and it made things so much less complicated. When she asked a question she would get the answer rather than getting yelled at. She understood now. She had loved Inuyasha but it wasn't strong enough. She had loved him but he loved another and her feelings began to weaken over time. What she felt for Sesshoumaru was...different. She knew now that she loved him, but she was sure that it would not work because she was human and she was sure he would not lower himself to be with her. She began to sing. The words of the song described what she was feeling at this moment, that no matter what happened, no matter if he loved her or not, she loved him. She sang freely and openly, allowing her voice to be carried on the evenings gentle breeze. When she was done she stood still for a while, eyes sparkling, still staring at the beautiful light that painted the sky. She sighed and walked back into the room, dropping onto the bed.

'Oh Kagome, you fall in love with the most hopeless of people. When will you ever learn?' Kagome criticized herself for allowing herself to fall for yet another man that she didn't have a chance with. She laid her head on the pillow and fell asleep within minutes.

_Back to Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru's head was spinning. She had said she loved him! She said she loved him! He was overwhelmed with joy. He waited until he was high enough in the air and far enough from the castle and he let out a howl of victory. She had opened the door to him and she hadn't enough known it. He had already intended do this, but know was the perfect time. He would visit Totosai and have him make a sword for Kagome. A sword of love made from his own fang. It would be the gift to begin the courting ritual. He flew faster as he was quite anxious to have the sword made.

He arrived at the old man's home in no time. Totosai had sensed his arrival and was waiting oustide near his cow for him.

"What is it that you have come here for Lord Sesshoumaru?" He asked, sounding disinterested.

"I desire a sword made." He answered coldly.

"I will not make your evil swords." Totosai replied.

"This one is not for me. It is for my intended." Sesshoumaru stated, drawing Totosai's interest.

"Oh? So you have found an intended have you? Well, if the sword is for her I must know what she is like."Totosai said as if it was completely obvious.

"She is a powerful miko. Pure of heart. She cares for everyone but herself. That is all you need to know." Sesshoumaru answered with much thought before-hand.

"Ahh, so you have chosen Kagome. I must say it comes as a shock." Totosai had surprised Sesshoumaru. He had seen straight through Sesshoumaru's description of his intended. He had tried to conceal her identity but considering there weren't very meany miko's so pure of heart, it was obvious to Totosai who he was talking about.

"Well, I suppose I should get started then," Totosai said grabbing the biggest pair of plyers he could find, "Open wide."

Sesshoumaru did as Totosai said and opened his mouth, to have one of his fangs torn out.

"I'm sure you are already aware of the fact that this will take a while. Come back in 6 days. You sword will be ready by then." Said the old man, getting ready to turn this tooth into a work of art.

"Then I shall return in 6 days and my intendeds sword had better be completed by then." Sesshoumaru said in an icy tone and he turned from the old swordsmith. Sesshoumaru walked awake from the old man and outside. He summoned his youkai cloud and sailed back towards the castle. He placed his hand gently over his mouth where he had felt the tooth removed. He had to admit, it was still hurting slightly. He would be constantly reminded of the sword until he managed to grow the tooth back. His Kagome was worth this. Tomorrow before training he would ask her permission to attempt to court her. He had to think carefully about the words he would use and so he did as he flew back to the castle, the moon casting a beautiful blue light down to reflect on his white hair as it whipped behind him like water down a waterfall.

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Eri: Well, there we go. Yet another chapter finished. I hope you liked it. Please do review and let me know. The next one should be interesting. How will he ask her? I dunno yet, you will have to keep reading to find out. I'm makin it up as I go:P


	15. The Question

Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters are not mine, Sesshoumaru's servants, save for Jaken, are mine. So is Redishikyo.

_**Chapter 15: The Question**_

Kagome woke to the sound of a blue bird. She yawned and stretched before she remembered the day before. Her neck hurt. Her entire body was stiff from the bed rest, but other than that, she felt pretty good. She sat up gently rubbing her neck Sesshoumaru had healed her arm but not her neck. She still had the puncture wounds and bruises that Redishikyo had left. It was times like this that she was grateful to carry cover-up in her backpack. Right now though, she didn't care. No one could see her and everyone in the castle had seen it the day before anyways. She moved to the edge of her bed and looked around the room. She rose to her feet and walked to her wardrobe. There was a new kimono in there. One that had not been there yesterday morning. It was a beautiful sea green silk. It was patternless save for the large white dog on the back. Kagome had to giggle. She assumed that the dog was Sesshoumaru and she just HAD to wear it. She went to change into it and tied her hair into a bun as well, leaving two medium size strands to dangle beside her face.

She walked out of the changing area and was surprised to find that Kiana was in the room, cleaning up. She nearly jumped out of her skin. She had thought that she was alone.

"Oh! Hello Kiana! What are you doing here?" She asked unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

Kiana giggled at Kagome's surprise. "I am sorry Kagome, I did not mean to scare you. I've come to collect the medical supplies that Lord Sesshoumaru was using on you last night. I could hear you moving around so I knew you were awake." She said, attempting to fight off the giggles.

"It's ok. I just wasn't expecting anyone to be in here. Tell me, have you seen Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked in response. She had not even heard from him since he left her room last night.

"I am sorry, I have not. No one has seen him since last night. He took the children out to play in the garden and they came back without him." She shrugged. "Do not worry, this happens often. He is most likely attending to his duties as Lord of the western lands." Kagome nodded in agreement, although she couldn't help feeling there was more to it than that.

"Wait, did you say he took them to play in the garden?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Kiana replied, curious as to why where they had played made any difference.

"When did he do that?"

"The sun was setting."

Kagome blushed intensely at her answer. 'Crap! Did he hear me singing? Oh I really hope not! I would just die!' Kagome hoped in her concious mind that he had not heard her, but in the back of her mind she couldn't ignore the feeling that he might know how she felt and that she would be somewhat grateful if he did. She wouldn't have to hide it any longer. However, she was still unsure if he had heard her. She would have to find out somehow. She thought about it for a while and the realization that the only way to find out would be to ask him set in, causing her to blush deeper. She looked over at Kiana to find her staring at her. She laughed out loud in embarrassment. She had been caught in her world of thought.

"Is everything alright Kagome?" Kiana said, looking concerned.

"Mmhmm, Everything is fine. Sorry, I just kinda lost myself in my thoughts." Kagome answered truthly, being very careful to conceal what her thoughts had been about. "Tell me, do you think he will be gone long? Sesshoumaru I mean."

Kiana was taken aback by her informality in referring to her master. "Well, it could take days, but did he not say last night that the two of you would resume your training tonight?" Kiana asked her.

"Oh yea, he did didn't he. I trust that he'll be back by tonight then." Kagome answered, remembering what he had said. Sesshoumaru had never gone against his word with her before so she trusted that he wouldn't go against it this time. She asked Kiana if she would take the children down to the dining hall for their breakfast when the time came. She needed a bath. The thought of the hot springs was far too appealing. Then she remembered what had happened last time she went to these hot springs and blushed profusely. She just hoped that it wouldn't happen again, as much as she had enjoyed the view...'ACK! Don't think like that Kagome!' She mentally yelled at herself. 'If you keep thinking like that, you'll end up like Miroku!'

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and grabbed all her bathing supplies once more. She made her way out of her room. She passed the children's room as quietly as possible so that she would not wake them up. She had remembered how to get to the hot springs. One doesn't easy forget how to get to a place after such an...ordeal occurs there(Eri: Hehehe). She arrived at the bathing room with the two long pools of cold water. She removed her kimono and slipped in, going under the water immediately. The water did not feel as cold as it had last time. She lathered up her hair and rinsed it off. She couldn't help but smell her hair as she checked to make sure she got all the shampoo out. She loved the smell of this shampoo. She was running a bit low though. 'Was it this low the last time I used it?' She asked herself, not able to help feeling that someone else had used it. 'Oh well, I will have to make sure that I pick up more the next time I go home.' Kagome made a mental note of that. She would NOT go for any length of time without shampoo.

She soaped up and rinsed off, making sure to get ALL the dirt from every little spot on her body. The water felt nice against her body. It was relaxing. It was cool to the touch and had it been a hot summer day, she would have preferred this to a hot spring. However, today was not a hot summer day. It was the middle of spring. Though it was nice outside, it was not hot enough to desire cold water. She quickly finished up what she was doing and moved on to the hot springs, wrapping a towel around herself. She had become accustomed to one of the springs. It was the same one that she had used her first time here and the same one she swiftly dove into the second time she came to these hot springs to escape the wandering eyes of a naked demon. Now, she came to this one by choice. The water was warm and extremely inviting. The steam rising from the water spread the water warmth through the air.She glanced around quickly before dropping her towel and easing into the water. She lowered herself until her entire body was below the water. The deepest point of the water was about 3 inches above her head. She pulled herself out and treaded in the warm water. She was enjoying every minute of it. She found a spot to sit and settled into it.

'I really hope he didn't hear me...' Kagome thought to herself. She would have been overwhelmed with embarrassment. 'And what did he mean when he said he "wanted" to kiss me? Did he really want to or was it just a spur of the moment thing? Arg! Kagome, you confuse yourself too often. I'm sure I'm thinking too hard about nothing, but I can't shake the feeling that there is more to this training in his castle than meets the eye...' Kagome lost herself in her thoughts. By the time she had snapped out of it, the sun had fully risen above the horizon. The children would be waking soon. She couldn't help but wonder if Sesshoumaru had made it back yet.

_Back to Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru flew back to the castle at a slower pace than he had taken to get to Totosai's home. He had no need to rush. His tooth had completely grown back. The only thing on his mind was Kagome. He couldn't wait to get back to her. To ask her if he could begin courting her. He had the feeling she had some questions to ask. Surely she didn't know EVERYTHING about an inuyoukai's mating patterns.

The sun was coming over the horizon as the castle came into view. He smiled at the thought of being near Kagome once again. Today would be the day that he would ask to court her. He wasn't sure what he would do if she said no, but he was certain that she would accept his offer. He found himself feeling something he had never felt before. He was nervous. He disgusted the feeling. He desired to rid himself of it immediately. He would find Kagome when he reached the castle. He would speak with her immediately.

He flew at his top speed. He was most definately looking forward to this at the same time as that nervous feeling flooded his body. He was struggling to contain his emotions and let them slip as he was out of everyone else's sight. He allowed a large smile to spread across his lips, showing his fangs. As he neared the castle, he fought his emotions back into submission. He would show them to no one but Kagome and the children. He made his way to the castle and landed in front of the gates where he was met by the castle guards. They ran out to see if he was in need of any assistance and bowed to him when they found he was alright. Sesshoumaru continued to walk without acknowleding his guards presence. His mind was set on finding Kagome. Not even the servants passing him in his castle halls could distract him from his task at hand. He picked up on her scent and began to follow it. It was leading down to the hot springs. Sesshoumaru smirked inwardly at the thought of catching her in the hot springs again.

_Back to the hot springs_

Kagome was finishing up in the hot springs. She regretted leaving the water as the cold air chilled her entire body. She scrambled for her towel and wrapped it around her shivering body. 'Was it this cold when I got here?' Kagome didn't remember the temperature being so low. 'Oh well, doesn't matter.' She dried herself off, allowing her hair to hang behind her, soping wet. She grabbed her kimono and put it on as quickly as possible. It felt so great against her freshly cleaned skin. She giggled at the thought of what Sesshoumaru would think of her wearing it. He had obviously had it made to fit her perfectly and she absolutely loved it. She quickly towel dried her hair, although it didn't do her much good. She collected her belongings and headed back towards her room. She was surprised to bump into Sesshoumaru as she slip the door to the bathing room open, dropping her things on the ground. She fumbled to try to catch them but it was a futile attempt. She blushed, looking up into Sesshoumaru's golden eyes.

Sesshoumaru rounded the corner to the hot springs. He could smell her coming closer and assumed that to his disappointment she was fully clothed once more and leaving the hot springs. It was the smell of her shampoo again and he nearly lost focus of his intentions. He was about to slide to door open to enter the bathing room when she opened it from the other side and collided with him, dropping everything. He nearly laughed at her reactions and he attempt to save her belongings. When she saw him blush and look up at him he regained his composure. He must ask her. He must. He found himself bending down to collect the things that she had dropped. She stooped to collect them as well, blushing the whole time. Sesshoumaru found himself smiling inwardly. 'She's blushing. That could only mean one thing...' The realization hit him full force and his stoic mask faltered, allowing a smile to spread across his lips and twinkle in his eyes.

Kagome saw him smile and blushed even deeper. She had to ask him. Now. 'Come on Kagome, do it. You can do it. Breathe...ok, now ask.'

"Sesshoumaru?" she said softly.

"Yes?" he replied, allowing his emotion to only barely be heard in his voice.

"Um, you...you didn't happen to hear me singing yesterday? I know that sounds like a weird question, but I have to know..." She asked him, blushing the whole time. She felt as though her face were on fire.

"Yes" He answered.

'OH KAMI! HE DID HEAR! What does he think? He probably thinks I'm a total loser now.' Kagome's mind felt like she had opened the flood gates to her thoughts. She was overwhelmed and could barely comprehend half of them. She looked up at Sesshoumaru to find that he had a look of determination on his face and it confused her greatly.

"Kagome. I desire to court you."

'WHAT! DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT! THIS HAS GOTTA BE A DREAM!' Kagome was completely dumb founded by his statement. She wasn't quite sure how to answer him so she decided to play dumb.

"Umm, I don't know if you know what courting means to a human but..." She was cut off by Sesshoumaru.

"I know full well, and I do not repeat myself. Do you accept my request?" He asked her, the first part was rather icy sounding, but the second part was much softer. He looked deep into her eyes as she considered his request.

"Ummm..." She really didn't know what to say to him. She really liked him. Hell, forget liked, she was madly in love with him. As her thoughts progressed, she became more and more aware of the fact that she truly did desire him. "Yes, I accept. But I don't know very much about the way that demons do it so you'll have to teach me and be patient with me."

Sesshoumaru's heart lept for joy at her words. She had accepted his request to court her. That was all the he would need. He smiled the biggest, most beautiful smile Kagome had ever seen and she returned his smile with one of her own.

"The courting ritual will officially begin in 3 days time. I am having a courting gift made specially for you. You must accept this gift to begin the ritual. I will explain any questions you have at a later time." He said, smiling the whole time. "I must attend to my duties as Lord of these lands for now. I will be available to you after we train." that said, Sesshoumaru placed a hand on her cheek for the breifest moment, staring into her eyes before he smiled a soft, gentle smile at her and turned from her, walking to tend to his lands.

Kagome watched as he walked away. She waited until he rounded the corner and let out a squeal of happiness.

Sesshoumaru had heard her squeal and turned around to see if she was alright, when he reached the door, he found her dancing around the room. He smiled to himself. It was clear that he had not quilted her into accepting. She had done it gladly, and extremely gladly at that. He replaced his stoic mask and left her once more. He was not going to get very much done today, his mind would be too distracted. He sighed to himself and kept walking, leaving his intended to dance in peace.

_Back to Kagome_

As soon as Sesshoumaru was out of sight she had begun to dance. Her head was light from all the spinning, but she felt like she could walk on air right now so her dizzyness barely even registered. She couldn't believe it. 'He had actually asked if he could court me! Him! Me! AHHH!' She thought to herself, mentally she was still screaming. She nearly fell over from the spinning in her head and decided to stop. She held her head and crouched down to use the ground to steady herself. Once she could remotely think clearly the first thing that came to her mind was Kiana. She had to tell Kiana! She stumbled forward and out of the room in search of her friend.

It took a while before she could find her and Kagome was nearly exploding inside. She had to tell someone or it would explode out of her like an alien. She wandered past the room that she was so curious about but barely even glanced at the door before continuing her search. She was beginning to become fed up with the search. She passed by a guard in the hall way and decided to double take and ask him if he had seen her.

"Excuse me, Have you seen Kiana any where around here?" She asked him.

"Yes, Lady Kagome, I have. She is in the gardens with the children." he answered her respectfully.

"Thank you" She said to him quickly as she started to run off before realizing she had no idea how to get there from here. She had never seen this part of the castle before or if she had she didn't remember it. She stopped herself and walked back to the guard, embarrassed.

"Umm, how do I get there?" She asked shyly. He merely smiled and guided her outside to the gardens. It didn't take long and Kagome was surprised by how close she had actually been. When they got outside she thanked him once more and left him to his guarding duties. She looked around the garden and when she saw Kiana she ran to her immediately.

"KIANA!" She yelled excitedly. Kiana had been surprised by her and turned to see her running towards her quickly. Kagome had a huge smile on her face and Kiana knew that everything was ok, so she didn't have to worry.

"Hi Lady Kagome. How are you?" She asked kindly, using a respectable title seeing as they were not in private.

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! KIANAYOUWILLNEVERGUESSWHATJUSTHAPPENED!" Kagome's mouth was running at a mile a minute. Kiana, however, being female was able to somehow understand what she had said.

"What? What happened?" She asked her.

"SESSHOUMARUJUSTASKEDTOCOURTME! AHHHHHHHH!" She screamed, jumping for joy.

Kiana was shocked to say the least. "He did? OH MY GOSH!" Kiana was so happy for her friend. Her excitement was radiating off her and she couldn't help but feel excited along with her. "When did this happen?"

"Just now, down in the hot springs! I mean, I was coming out of the bathing room and I bumped into him dropping my stuff. He helped me pick it up and asked if he could court me!" Kagome brought her voice down a touch so that not everyone in the entire castle would know that he had acted to softly towards her. She understood that he needed to keep his cold appearance to be able to run his lands successfully. Kiana was overcome with joy for her friend and jumped and hugged her. Shinsai had been standing nearby and heard the whole conversation going on.

"Lady Kagome, Congratulations!" He said, he was happy for her. "I had a feeling that this would happen, although I'm not quite sure how I knew..." he said to her, a smile plastered across his face.

"So what did he give you to begin the courting ritual?" Kiana asked, she just had to know.

"Well, technically I haven't got it yet. He says it's being made right now and it will be ready in 3 days. He says the courting with 'Officially' begin then. He says it's being made specially for me, but he wouldn't say what it is..." Kagome answered. She herself was becoming curious as to what it was, but she would be patient to find out. If she pestered Sesshoumaru to tell her what it was, he would not be happy.

"I'm not sure if Sesshoumaru wants everyone to know yet so unless he says otherwise, would you two be able to keepit quiet?" She asked. Both agreed. Unfortunately she had forgotten that Rin and Shippo were just a few feet away. They had heard the screams of joy and came over to find out what was going on. When they heard the news, they couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"OKAA CHAN! YOU AND SESSHOUMARU SAMA ARE TOGETHER NOW!" Shippo yelled as he jumped up onto her shoulder.

"Sort of Shippo. It's not official until 3 days from now." She smiled down at her excited son.

"Does that mean I can call him Otou san?"

"Hahaha, You'll have to talk with him about that." She said, joy radiating off her. She looked to Rin who seemed to be happy but confused at the same time.

"Rin, whats the matter?" Kagome asked.

"Well, Shippo might be able to call Sesshoumaru sama Otou san and he calls you Okaa chan, but what does Rin get to call you? Lord Sesshoumaru is like Rin's Otou san." She said. Kagome's heart melted for the little child. She wasn't quite sure what to say but she knew that Rin wanted Kagome to be her mother too.

"Well Rin, You can call me Okaa chan if you would like? Does that sound good?" She said looking sweetly at the little girl. Rin's eyes lit up with joy and she hopped and hugged Kagome.

"Oh really? Do you mean it?" She asked.

"Of course."

"Thanks...Okaa chan!" Rin was beaming at being able to call Kagome that. She had a mother now.

Kagome hugged her back and rose to her feet. She had never felt happier. She put Shippo down on the ground and watched as the children ran off and played in the flowers with more energy than she had ever seen from them. It brought her even more joy. She found a shady tree to sit under and made herself comfortable. She didn't really feel like sitting though. She gave up on being comfortable sitting down and joined the children, laughing and chasing after them, hugging them each tightly when she caught them.

----------------------------------------------------

Eri: Well, THAT was fun:D Oh man, bet u've all been waiting for that one:P Well, review and lemme know! I'm still knew at this whole thingy so you'll have to gimme feed back.:) Please, i've you've got ideas as to where I can go from here, lemme know. I'm always open to opinions. Well, it's really late at night (1:50 am) so I'm gonna go. Next chapter will HOPEFULLY be up really soon. Oh yea, Sorry that this one took so long. Lots of working and schooling and more working. LOL


	16. Lord Bushimeiyo

Disclaimer: Inuyasha Characters not mine, Anyone you don't find in the show is mine.

**Chapter 16: Lord Bushimeiyo**

It was still early in the morning as Inuyasha watched over the sleeping gang. He sat in a tree a few metres away from them. He had done this every night since Kagome left. He knew that she was not going to rejoin them. She had been too hurt when Kikyo had joined. At the thought of her, he glanced down to see that she was once again sleeping away from the others. She lay on one side of the fire while Kirara, Sango and Miroku slept on the other side, Kirara in the middle so that Miroku couldn't try anything lecherous. He sighed inwardly. He missed Kagome and as much as he hated to admit it, he missed Shippo as well. Things weren't the same without them. He stared up into the early morning sky, watching the sunrise.

Sigh. "Kagome I hope you're alright..." he whispered into the morning air. He hadn't even heard about her since Sesshoumaru had taken her away, and the others barely spoke of her. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain everytime that she had come up in conversation and the others quickly changed the subject. She was his best friend. The first human (other than his mother) to truly accept him the way he was. She had gotten him to trust her. He missed her horribly and he became aggitated at the thought that she left willingly, even though he had pushed her to it. He had grown accustomed to sleeping near the group and watching Kagome while she slept and now she was gone and he felt like something was missing. He wanted more than anything to see her again, to explain to her why he had asked Kikyo to join them, and more importantly to ask her why she felt it so necessary to leave him behind for his older brother.

"Inuyasha?" a small gentle voice was heard from below him. He looked down to see who it was. It was Kikyo.

"Go back to sleep Kikyo." He said in his most unfeeling voice possible.

"You are thinking about Kagome again aren't you." She asked in a monotone voice.

"..."

"Go to her."

"I can't. Sesshoumaru will never let me in his castle."

"But Kagome might be able to convince him otherwise."

Kikyo's logic got through to Inuyasha. He may not be welcomed by Sesshoumaru, but Kagome could probably convince him to let him in. The thought of seeing Kagome again made him very happy. He lept down from the tree with a huge smile on his face.

"Thanks Kikyo, you're the best." He said, hugging her tightly before running to wake the others. "Everyone, Get up!" he yelled.

His answers were the grumbles of his friends as they woke to his voice.

"What's the problem Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, coming to his senses first.

"We're going to Sesshoumaru's castle. Now, everyone GET UP!" Inuyasha was back to his usual impatient self. It would be a long walk to get to Sesshoumaru's castle and he was going to make sure it started right now. He didn't want to waste any time. He nudged Sango with his foot until she swatted him away and rose from the ground. She was irritated to be woken so early, but it was a welcomed changed to waking up to Miroku's lecherous groping.

"Why are we going there? Kagome is training, that's all." She said, still irritated.

"Because I need to talk to her that's why. Now get up or I'm leavin without ya!" He retorted stubbornly. He was not going to dispute this. Kikyo had convinced him that he still had a chance to talk to Kagome and he wasn't about to miss it. Kirara woke up when Kikyo had walked away from the group. She had heard every word that the two had said and softly mewled at the thought of seeing Kagome again.

Once they were ready they headed of in the direction of the castle, Inuyasha leading the way.

_At the Castle_

"Ok Rin, Shippo, It's time for lunch." Kagome said, completely exhausted from chasing the two for so long.

"Aww, do we have to go inside yet? Rin is having so much fun!" Rin whined. Kagome chuckled.

"Yes Rin, We do. It's time to eat and I'm getting really tired. I just can't keep up with you, you have too much energy!" She answered lovingly, causing Rin to show her a big toothy grin.

Rin and Shippo decided to race back to the castle, Kagome following at her own pace. She kept a careful eye on the children and she saw as Shippo tripped over a tree root and face planted on the ground. Her breath caught in her throat and she was about to run to him, but she saw him rise to his feet, brush the dirt off his close and continue running. She was relieved. She saw them enter the castle and followed them in. She had been wondering what was going to be served today when the smell hit her nose. It smelled so good, like turkey on thanksgiving. She had to assume that it was indeed some form of poultry and it was making her even more hungry. She was thinking about the eating and realized that Sesshoumaru would most likely be present. Her face became completely flushed. She couldn't wait to see him again. His beautiful eyes and the way they always seemed to see right through her to her inner most feelings. She dropped her head trying to hide the fact that she was blushing, but someone noticed.

"What are you doing?" a deep voice asked her. She looked up to see Sesshoumaru standing right in front of her and blushed even deeper.

"Umm...I was going to the dining hall...to have lunch..." She managed to say. She was surprised that any sound came from her lips period.

"I will join you." He replied, placing a hand on her back and coaxing her to walk towards the doors.

"Uh, sure." She said smiling and following his hands guidance. She had to admit that his hand felt great against her back. It felt warm and she welcomed the feeling.

Sesshoumaru had seen the children run through the castle doors but he had not seen Kagome and that worried him. He walked out the doors to see her perfectly fine, looking down at the ground walking slowly towards him. At first glance it appeared that she was upset but in taking a second look he noticed that she was blushing profusely. He knew exactly what had caused her to blush. It was him and he took great pride in that. He walked quitely up to her and spoke those four words. "what are you doing here?" Snapping her out of her self induced trance. When she responded he could tell that she had been surprised and that she was indeed blushing over him. He decided to join her and surprised them both by placing his hand in the center of her back. He was rewarded for his actions by one of her beautiful smiles. Sesshoumaru's heart melted at the sight of it. 

As the two walked into the castle, they could smell what was being cooked. Kagome had decided to ask Sesshoumaru what it was. He told her it was chicken and she smiled victoriously. She had been right, it was poultry. Sesshoumaru noticed her smile and did not think he would ever see someone so happy to have chicken for lunch. He shrugged off her actions assuming it was a female thing and walked close behind her, protectively.

Kagome was trying to follow the smell of the chicken to remember where the dining hall was. She had been here for a while now but she still could not remember her way around alot of the place. Luckily for her she was managing to do it avoiding Sesshoumaru's suspicions that she might not know where she was going. Sesshoumaru chuckled as he watched her take a wrong turn and grabbed her arm gently, directing her down the right hall. She blushed.

"Ok, I admit it. I don't really know where I'm going. I've been following the smell of the chicken." She said sheepishly. Sesshoumaru was impressed that a human had followed it's nose for this long. He smirked.

"You were nearly there." He answered her kindly, still smirking. At his words she blushed even deeper and allowed him to step in front to show her the rest of the way to the dining hall. She dropped her head as she followed him. She had embarrassed the crap out of herself and was trying to rid her face of the blood that had rushed to it. They rounded a corner that Kagome recognized to be just outside of the dining hall and slowed her pace. She wanted to make sure all the colour was gone, even though she would just begin to blush again.

The two made it to the dining hall in no time. Kagome had managed to get her blushing under control and was trying to avoid staring at Sesshoumaru for fear that she would blush again. Shippo and Rin were already eating when they got there. They took their places at the table and Kagome's lunch and Sesshoumaru's drink were brought out to them. Kagome once again waited for him to drink first. When he did, she began eating, savouring each mouthful of chicken she took as he eyed her carefully. 'She really does enjoy the chicken...I must remember this.' He thought to himself, pleased that his servants had made food to her liking.

At that moment one of Lord Sesshoumaru's guards walked up to him very quietly and politely bowed to him before whispering to him what was going on so that no one else could hear. "Lord Sesshoumaru, please excuse my interruption, but Lord Bushimeiyo has come to see you. It appears there is trouble in the eastern lands." Sesshoumaru's expression iced over completely and he rose to his feet.

"I must leave now. You are to stay with the children this afternoon and I will come for you when we are to train." He said to Kagome before walking out of the room quickly, guard following. Kagome, Shippo and Rin all looked at each other, confused. By the serious look on Sesshoumaru's face she knew that something was wrong and she wanted to find out what that was. She was tempted to follow him but she had been told to stay with the children, so she stayed behind.

Sesshoumaru walked briskly away from the dining hall with his guard in toe. From what he had been told, this was not a social visit. He had made sure that his stoic mask was securely in place before he left the dining hall and he was not about to let it slip. He walked the long corridors to the front gates, where the eastern Lord awaited him. Lord Bushimeiyo had been a close friend and ally to his father and he had kept those powerful connections with him in tact. He knew he would be a wise decision and now he would see just how wise it was. As he reached the castle gates he was greeted by his guards and Lord Bushimeiyo and his guards. They bowed to one another. Sesshoumaru invited them in and had his guards find a place for the eastern guards.

Sesshoumaru led Lord Bushimeiyo to his study where they could speak in private.

"I must say Lord Sesshoumaru, You have matured much since the last I saw you." Lord Bushimeiyo spoke, breaking the silence.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru answered, seeing as nothing more was necessary to be said.

"How are things in the west?" Bushimeiyo asked, rather uncomfortable with the silence that Sesshoumaru answer had brought.

"They are well. What is it you have come here for?" Sesshoumaru asked, blunt as always.

"There is an evil presence growing in my lands. I have felt that it has also spread to yours. I believe that you know what presence I speak of." Lord Bushimeiyo began.

"Naraku..." Sesshoumaru replied. Lord Bushimeiyo nodded and continued.

"I have come to warn you of him. My spies have learned of his plans. He seeks to complete the Shikon no Tama to become full demon. However he is having trouble finding all of the shards. I know of the miko that you are training here in your castle. Naraku believes that she has the ability to sense the shards of the jewel. He and his minions are on their way towards your castle. His plan is to kidnap her and kill you, taking away your lands."

Sesshoumaru understood what Bushimeiyo was saying. Naraku was after Kagome. His blood boiled at the thought of someone trying to take her away from him. He nodded to Bushimeiyo to show his appreciation for the warning.

"You are welcome to stay in my castle as long as you need to." Sesshoumaru offered him. It was the least he could do for the warning he had been given. He now had an advantage over Naraku because he had lost the element of surprise. Lord Bushimeiyo accepted his gracious offer.

"You are in love with this miko, aren't you?" Lord Bushimeiyo asked. Apparently he had noticed Sesshoumaru's anger when he had mentioned that Naraku was after her. Sesshoumaru had been taken aback by the fact that he had noticed.

"She is my intended." He responded, keeping his stoic mask in place no matter how surprised he had been.

"Well, She must be strong in order for you of all people to fall in love with her." Lord Bushimeiyo stated, slightly chuckling after the fact. Sesshoumaru merely stared at him, there was no iciness in his stare though, merely thoughtfulness. Bushimeiyo noticed this and added, "If she truly means so much to you, then you have my army and I to assist you in protecting her."

Sesshoumaru continued to look at him before responding. "That would be welcomed." His answer caused Bushimeiyo to smile and bow his head respectively. He rose to his feet and left the room, allowing Sesshoumaru to think in peace.

Kagome had been curious ever since Sesshoumaru had walked out of the Dining hall. She had heard the whispers of the servants in the castle saying that the Lord of the eastern lands had come on business and did not seem to be in a very good mood when he had arrived. Kagome wanted to talk to Sesshoumaru and see just what was going on but she had promised to stay with the children so she had taken them out to the garden. She allowed them to play for a while before bringing them in closer to resume teaching Rin how to read. She brought out the same book as last time and continued where they had left off. Rin was becoming very good at reading. She could say the entire alphabet and read some very small words. After about an hour Kagome could tell that Rin was becoming frustrated so she put the books away.

"Okaa chan, can you sing us a song?" Shippo asked nicely.

"YES! I mean, yes please Okaa chan. Rin likes it very much when you sing." Rin blurted out before calming herself and asking nicely as well.

Kagome agreed and searched her memory for the right song to sing. Then suddenly, the right song fell into her mind and she began to sing.

_Hush my love now don't you cry  
Everything will be all right  
Close your eyes and drift in dream  
Rest in peaceful sleep_

Rin and Shippo settled into her arms as her gentle voice carried itself in the wind.

_If there's one thing I hope  
I showed you  
Hope I showed you  
Just give love to all_

Kagome's voice had carried across the garden to the castle doors where some of the servants had stopped to listen. They were entranced by her voice. Even when she was singing she seemed to imminate kindness. Lord Bushimeiyo was walking down the corridor towards the garden when he had heard her voice. He was curious to see who it was and as he reached the entrance he saw her. __

Oh my love…in my arms tight  
Every day you give me life  
As I drift off to your world  
Will rest in peaceful sleep  


Bushimeiyo was not the only Lord to hear her voice. It had carried itself up to Sesshoumaru's study. At the sound of her voice he moved to the window overlooking the garden and opened it all the way, listening to her sing. She seemed to be sending a sense of calmness throughout the castle that it had not felt in many many years.

_  
I know there's one thing that  
you showed me  
That you showed me  
Just give love to all  
Let's give love to all_

Everyone except for Sesshoumaru began to clap, startling Kagome. She had not noticed her audience growing. She had not realized that anyone but Shippo and Rin had heard her. She began to blush.

"That was impressive." She heard someone's voice, seeing a demon walking towards her. He was well dressed. On his forehead was a marking like Sesshoumaru's only this one was a sun. Kagome assumed that this demon was Lord Bushimeiyo and bowed in respect for him. Hearing him laugh she raised her head again.

"Thank you, but to be honest I didn't think anyone but Shippo and Rin here were listening." She said with all honesty.

"You were projecting your voice and a sense of calmness throughout the castle. It would be very difficult not to listen." He said to her.

"I was? But how? I didn't know I could do that." She said, very confused.

"I do not know. Let me introduce myself. My name is Bushimeiyo, Lord of the eastern lands."

"My name is Kagome, Milord."

"There is no need for the intended of the lord of the west to be so formal with me." He chuckled. "I must speak with you in private however." 

Kagome was curious to find out what he had to say so she called over Kiana and asked her to watch over the children. She and Bushimeiyo walked a good distance into the garden until they were out of ear shot of the castle.

"I'm afraid this isn't a social visit Lady Kagome. There is an evil half demon named Naraku on his way to the castle as we speak. He desires the shards of the Shikon no Tama and he believes that you are able to sense them. He is coming to take you as his slave and kill Lord Sesshoumaru, taking his lands from him."

Kagome gasped. She knew all about Naraku and his desires for the jewel shards, but she had no idea that he would come after her to kidnap her. It made sense to her though. He had lost his own shard detector, Kikyo. He was in need of a new one and the only other person who could sense the shards was herself. She silently swore at herself for not having seen it coming earlier. She relayed to Bushimeiyo the facts about him that she herself had learned in her battles with him. Some of the details she could give would be useful in defending themselves against him. They continued to walk and talk in the garden for the next little while.

Sesshoumaru heard a soft voice coming in through the window to his study, making it increasingly difficult to think.He recognized the voice and rose from his spot to look out the window to see where it was coming from. When he pushed the window completely open he realized that it was Kagome. He had heard her voice once before.Now, she was sitting in the garden with the children singing to them. Her voice was sweet and gentle. She seemed to be creating a sort of calm feeling that everyone in the castle felt. He smiled to himself as he continued to listen to her. It was only when she had finished that he realized she had a small audience growing. He heard them clap and looked towards the door finding Lord Bushimeiyo and about 20 servants who had stopped to listen to her. He watched as Lord Bushimeiyo walked up to her and spoke with her. Sesshoumaru knew that he would be informing her of the imposing threat that was heading their way. As he suspected, he watched as the demon lord guided her further into the garden while Kiana watched over the children. He watched as the servants went back into the castle and he watched as the children began to play.

He left the window, leaving it wide open. He sat back down in his chair to think. She and him were to have another training session tonight and now there was an upcoming battle to prepare for. This was going to be an interesting few days.

----------------------------

Eri: Hey, SORRY! I know, been super busy, but now I'm back to work and I've got all day tomorrow to write. YEAY:D:D:D Well, I've decided to thicken the plot once more. lol. I have to give props out to creed because I used the lyrics to one of their songs in this one. lol. Well, Let me know where you think I should go next and how you think I did. ok? ok. cya!


	17. Planning and Training

Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters are not mine. Anyone who doesn't appear in the show is mine.

**Chapter 17: Planning and Training**

Kagome continued to walk outside with Lord Bushimeiyo. She found herself enjoying his company. It was nice to finally have a civilized conversation again. Shippo and Rin were still too young to have civilized conversations and lets face it, Sesshoumaru rarely spoke unless he felt it necessary.

"So how did you meet Lord Sesshoumaru." Lord Bushimeiyo asked.

"Well it wasn't exactly the best way to meet someone. He was looking for his fathers tomb. I was with Inuyasha then and he came and took this black orb out of his eye and turned it into a portal. Sesshoumaru jumped through it and Inuyasha followed, taking me with him. When we got there Sesshoumaru had been unable to get the tetsusaiga to come out of where it was being held and neither was Inuyasha. They tried to kill each other and I jumped down and accidentally pulled it out. Then Sesshoumaru tried to kill me but I was still holding the tetsusaiga so it protected me." Kagome replied, somewhat winded after telling the story considering she had said the most part in one breath.

Lord Bushimeiyo wasn't the least bit surprised. That was how Sesshoumaru was.

"Is that how he lost his left arm a while ago?" He asked her.

"Yes it is, but I have no idea how he got it back." She answered him. He nodded in response.

Sesshoumaru was the only one who truly knew how he had gotten his arm back. He had refused to tell anybody. When the topic came up in conversation, he would remain silent or leave the room.

"Let's go back to the castle. It's nearing dinner time and I'm sure that Kiana could use a break." Kagome said, getting hungry.

"Sure. However, I will not be joining you in the dining hall. I have things I must tend to." Lord Bushimeiyo replied, changing his direction and heading back towards the castle.

As Kagome and Bushimeiyo rounded a corner and came back to the part of the garden where the children were playing. Kiana looked like she was completely tired out. Kagome had to laugh. She ran up to the children and took over playing with them. Kiana thanked her and returned to the castle. Kagome watched as Lord Bushimeiyo walked back towards the castle and disappeared through the large doors.

"Ok Shippo, Rin, it's time for supper. Let's go inside to eat."

"Aww, Okaa chan! Can't we just play for a little while longer?" Shippo cried out. He was having too much fun to go back inside.

"No Shippo. We have to eat now. Sesshoumaru-sama will be waiting for us inside. We don't want to keep him waiting." Kagome answered him sternly but lovingly. Shippo and Rin whined but gave in and raced back to the castle, Kagome in tow.

Sesshoumaru had been trying to think in his study but Kagome's singing had made it impossible. Even after she had finished, her voice was ringing in his head. Instead of thinking of a way to protect his castle against Naraku, he found himself thinking about what he would do if he lost Kagome. His blood began to boil and he found himself becoming more and more angry. All of a sudden someone barged into the room and disturbed him.

Kagome had walked the children to the dining hall and found that Sesshoumaru wasn't there. She talked to the cooks and they told her that he had not been seen since he left the dining hall earlier. She asked them where he had gone and they told her that he was on his way to his study with Lord Bushimeiyo. She became worried. Lord Bushimeiyo had made his presence known to her hours ago but no one had seen Sesshoumaru. She asked for directions to his study and headed in that direction. She had to find out if he was alright. He had always been somewhat kept to himself but this was ridiculous. She reached the door to his study and got a strange feeling. She knew that he was inside but it felt as if he wasn't in a good mood. The tension at the door was thick enough to cut with a knife. She opened the door.

Kagome was shocked by what she saw when she opened the door. Sesshoumaru was sitting in a large chair at his desk. His eyes were red and he was beginning to transform into his true form.

"Sesshoumaru..." She said, in an attempt to distract him from what he was doing.

Sesshoumaru looked up and saw Kagome. He could smell that she was frightened. He had scared her and he had never intended to do that. He did something he was never able to do in the past. He calmed his inner demon instantly. His eyes returned to their normal golden colour and he rose from his seat. He walked up to her and stopped right in front of her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." He spoke softly to her.

"It's ok. Are you alright now?" She asked, she was concerned for him.

Sesshoumaru pulled her into his arms against his chest. She was startled at first but settled into his warmth.

"Sesshoumaru..." She said so softly it was nearly a whisper.

"I am fine." He replied, just as soft. "I will not let anyone take you from me."

Kagome knew what he was talking about and nodded into his chest, gently squeezing him reassuringly.

Sesshoumaru couldn't believe how easy it had been to hold her close to him. He had never hugged anyone in his life but now he was doing it so easily, so willingly. He was enjoying it. He nuzzled his nose in her hair and took in her scent. It was so addictive to him. He found himself losing track of everything else around him. His only focus was her.

Kagome found Sesshoumaru's arms to be so comforting. She was enjoying his embrace but she knew that they could not stay like this for long. She enjoyed it while it lasted and she found herself nuzzling his chest. She was startled when Sesshoumaru abruptly broke their contact.

"You must eat now. Dinner is ready for you downstairs. I shall join you shortly." He said turning from her and leaving the room, heading towards his own room.

Kagome was confused to say the least. One minute she was enjoying Sesshoumaru's embrace, the next minute he was walking away from her. He was such a mysterious man. 'Oops I mean demon.' She thought to herself. Being his intended would definately be interesting. As she watched him leave she felt herself longing for the warmth of his arms. She wrapped her arms around herself but it just didn't have the same effect. She continued to watch him and he stopped in his tracks.

"Go eat." He said to her. Kagome blushed. He had noticed her staring at him.

Sesshoumaru had been walking away from her and he had noticed that she was staring at him. He smirked as he stopped in his tracks and told her to go eat. He could almost feel her blushing as he started to walk again and rounded a corner, stopping her from staring at him.

Kagome walked away from the study in the opposite direction from Sesshoumaru, closing the door behind her. She was definately going to enjoy training tonight. It would be fun. Meeting up with Sesshoumaru again and sparring with him. She walked down to the dining hall and found that the food was indeed ready. The children had already began to eat but she waited patiently for Sesshoumaru. He showed up shortly after in a change of clothing. He was wearing a blue kimono, hakama and juban with a white pattern like the red on his white kimono. Kagome blushed and looked back a the table again.

Sesshoumaru had noticed her blushing and smirked. This would be interesting. He sat at his normal spot and took the first sip like he usually did. Kagome followed suite.

"We shall begin to train after supper. You are to get your training armour on tonight. I will not be going as easy on you." Sesshoumaru stated.

"Yes Lord Sesshoumaru." She answered him timidly. Sesshoumaru looked at her. She was still embarrassed. Sesshoumaru finished off his drink and rose to his feet.

"I will be waiting in the dojo." He said to her and left the room. Kagome watched him go again. He watched so gracefully, his hair swaying gently behind him. Kagome couldn't help but love him. Her mind wandered back to the study. To his arms around her body. His face nuzzling her hair. She could definately get used to this. Most definately. She smiled to herself and realized that she had stopped eating and Shippo and Rin were staring at her like she was crazy. She laughed and got back to her plate. The cooks had definately gone a little overboard this time. Her plate held more than her stomach could. She finished as much as she could and guided the children up to their room to play. She went next door to her own room and changed into her training gear. She grabbed her katana and went down the stairs to the dojo.

The closer Kagome got to the dojo, the more excited she was getting. Granted, it was going to hurt because Sesshoumaru had said he wasn't going to go easy on her, but she just couldn't wait. It was going to be a lot of fun. She made sure that her katana was securely strapped to her waist. She walked into the dojo and found Sesshoumaru meditating in the middle of the floor. She raised an eyebrow at him and he looked up at her.

"Sit. The first step of today's training is meditation." He said to her.

Kagome had no idea how to meditate and she told him that.

"Close your eyes. Think of nothing." He said, closing his eyes and resuming his meditation. Kagome sat across from him and attempted to assume the same position he was in. He had one leg behind his back and the other in front of him. When she found she was unable, she sat cross-legged. She closed her eyes and focused all of mind on thinking of nothing. However, It wasn't working. She couldn't stop thinking about Sesshoumaru. Instead, she decided to focus mind on a mental image of him to see if that would work. It did work. She felt her energy inside growing as her breathing rate decreased and her heart rate calmed with it.

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes when he felt a spike in Kagome's energy. What he saw was that she was completely covered in a pink light. Her powers were surfacing. He smiled and spoke to her. She had done what he had hoped she would do.

"Kagome, it's time." He said, rising to his feet. "Stand up."

Kagome opened her eyes, startled to see that everything around her was pink. She blinked a few times and it went away. She rose to her feet, still feeling the strength that bringing forth her energy had provided her with. She watched as Sesshoumaru drew tenseiga and drew her own katana. She felt so focused on her target. She took a defensive stance seeing that he had taken the offensive. He attacked. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion to her. She easily dodged his attack and sent one of her own. He narrowly escaped it by dodging out of the way. He stood about 10 feet away from her, keeping his eyes on her at all times. 'She is more powerful than I thought.' He thougt to himself. He had to rethink his strategy.

"Now you come for me." He said to her. He would wait until she attacked. He needed to see just how strong meditation had made her. She stood silently, staring at him. She was considering all possible angles to attack from and how he could escape each so she could counter it. She settled on one and smirked.

"You shouldn't challenge me." She said. She charged him and as she suspected, he took the defense that she had planned. So she countered his defense and caught him off his guard. The only thing that saved him were his reflexes. He was able to put his sword in the way just in time to stop her from cutting open his side. He was shocked at her speed. She had actually caught him off his guard. And he had to resort to his demonic speed to defend himself. They continued this way for a short while before Sesshoumaru decided that they should change weaponry. She seemed to have a good knowledge of how to use the katana. She decided that she should work on her archery. He knew that she was skilled with it but he wanted to see just how good she really was.

He took her behind the dojo where he had a target range set up. Kagome didn't have her bow and arrow so he provided her with one of his. It was elegant in design. It had dragons etched down the arch of the bow. The bow itself was ivory in colour and it was very sturdy. Kagome looked it over with awe. It was more beautiful than any archery set she had ever seen. She drew the first arrow and aimed at the target. She let it fly and almost hit the target. Sesshoumaru was impressed that she had come so close to the target.

"Again." He said.

She drew another arrow up and focused more on the target. She focused all her energy into the arrow and let it fly. She hit the edge of the target and ended up purifying it. Sesshoumaru still wasn't satisfied. He had seen her miko powers but he wanted to see accuracy with her bow.

"Again." He repeated.

Once more, she drew another arrow and notched it on her bow. She chose another target to aim at and focused. She could feel Sesshoumaru staring at her and it wasn't helping.

"Could you NOT stare at me? It really doesn't help." She said. Sesshoumaru felt the need to glare but looked towards the target instead. He wasn't used to being bossed around.

"Focus. You won't hit it if you don't" He said.

Kagome nodded and focused once more. It took her a while before she shot and Sesshoumaru was beginning to think that she would never shoot. She lined up her target and fired. Her arrow flew through the arrow, a blue light trailing behind it. Sesshoumaru followed the arrow towards the target and watched as it hit dead centre, purifying it. Sesshoumaru was proud of her for hitting her target. He walked over to see what was left of the target and found nothing left of it. He turned and looked at Kagome, nodding his approval.

Kagome couldn't believe she had just hit her target dead centre. Her energy was flying high and she was proud of herself, beaming brightly. She watched as Sesshoumaru walked over to where the target used to be. When he found that the target was completely disintigrated, he turned around and nodded to her, smiling. Kagome jumped and squealed for joy. Sesshoumaru smiled even bigger.

"Ok, now aim for a moving target." He said to her as he began running around the field.

"WUT! NO! YOU'LL GET PURIFIED!" Kagome protested. The last thing she wanted to do was purify the one she loved.

"I will be fine. Just shoot."

Kagome was weary of shooting at him, but she trusted him. If he said he would be alright, then he would be alright. She notched another arrow and aimed at him as he ran. The first shot she took missed him because he was running and she aimed at where he was, not where he would be. She quickly corrected that mistake by judging where he would be by the time the arrow reached him. She aimed, she fired. She nearly hit him! Kagome shrieked as she watched him duck from the arrow.

"Well done." He said, panting. She had nearly killed him! He looked at her and he could feel the power imminating off of her. She was sweating and the light was reflecting off of her. She was beautiful and Sesshoumaru couldn't help feeling attracted to her. He was proud that she was his intended. He had another two days to wait before the sword would be finished. He couldn't wait that long. He wanted the sword now. He wanted to take her now. He had to fight his inner demon into submission as he watched her. She was nearly panicking.

Kagome ran to Sesshoumaru who was still on his knees.

"Sesshoumaru! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" She said, dropping to her knees to see if he was alright.

"I am...fine..." He spoke, still fighting his inner demon off. He could tell Kagome was worried about him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and saw the worry in her eyes and smiled at her, finally having succeeded against his demon side. She surprised him with what she did next. She wrapped her arms around him. Sesshoumaru's eyes opened wide but he reurned her embrace.

"I thought I'd hurt you. Please don't make me do that again." She pleaded with him. He nodded to her and gently removed her from him.

"I promise you will not have to do that again. I merely wished to test your abilities. Let us return to the castle. I am in need of a bath." He said to her. Kagome had to stifle a laugh. She had the best comment on what he had finished with but she knew it wouldn't be wise to say it to him. She rose to her feet and Sesshoumaru did as well.

"Do you mind if I go to the hot springs as well? I mean, not in the same hot spring or anything, I just need a bath as well. I'll keep myself covered..." She was blushing. She felt like she was asking to take a bath with him. All she wanted was to go down to the hot springs with him but to bathe separately. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You may. But don't expect to bathe with me yet. That comes later on in the courting ritual." He answered, causing her to blush deeper.

"No no no! I don't want to bathe with you, I just want to bathe in general, as long as you promise that you won't be looking at me." Kagome's entire face had gone bright red. Sesshoumaru was taking way too much enjoyment in her misery. He could tell she was becoming more and more embarrassed and grinned. He started walking towards the castle and Kagome followed him. They walked through the castle. Kagome stopped by her room, Sesshoumaru stopped by his. They both grabbed what they would be needing and headed down to the hot springs. Kagome was the first to reach the hot springs and took the opportunity to get into her bathing suit. She would still be able to clean herself, just not all of herself. She had just slipped into the cold water pool when Sesshoumaru arrived. He stopped in the doorway as he saw her. She was soaking wet and gorgeous. He removed all but his under garments as he stepped into the opposite pool from her. They washed all the sweat from themselves, exchanging glances on occasion.

Kagome was the first to make her way into the hot springs. She stepped out of the water and wrapped her towel around herself. She took one step towards the entrance to the hot springs, looked back over her shoulder to see Sesshoumaru with his back to her, washing his hair. She smiled to herself and headed into the room ahead of her. She headed for her usual hot spring and dropped the towel. She slowly lowered herself into the hot water and relaxed, allowing the waters warmth to soothe her aching muscles.

Sesshoumaru had just arrived at the hot springs to find Kagome swimming in one of the cold pools. He stopped for a moment to watch her until she noticed him and smiled. He proceeded to remove his kimono, juban and hakama, leaving his undergarments on. Normally he would remove them but he was not alone. He slipped into the opposite cold pool from Kagome and began to wash himself. He found himself watching her at some times and her watching him. The room was silent save for the sounds of the water splashing around them. He watched as Kagome slipped out of the water and wrapped her towel around her body. She was beautiful. He pulled his eyes off of her and turned from her to avoid staring at her any longer. He felt her eyes on the back of his head as he smirked and washed his hair.

Once she was gone he turned around again and finished up washing himself, slipping out of the water, dropping his undergarments and wrapping his own towel around his waist. He shook some of the water out of his hair and walked into the hot springs. He found his usual one and slipped into the water.

Kagome was thinking about Sesshoumaru again. He had said that she would be getting a gift in a couple of days to begin the courting ritual officially. She couldn't wait to find out what it was. Then again, she could barely believe that she was going to go through the whole courting ritual with Sesshoumaru. He had really changed since the first time they met. He had attempted to kill her and now he was being so kind to her. She trusted him with her heart and she would have never trusted him with anything before now. She smiled to herself. She was in love. And with Sesshoumaru no less.

Sesshoumaru was finally able to think. He had to think about how he would protect Kagome. Naraku was not going to get the upper hand. He had to think of some sort of strategy to defeat him or at least ruin his plan so they could defeat him at a later date. Either way, no one was taking Kagome from him. He sat in thought for a long time and come up with a plan. He would have his guards at the castle entrances and send one of his army's out to get behind Naraku and one in front of the castle. The one behind would stay hidden and catch him off guard in the middle of Naraku's attack to catch him by surprise. They would corner him. Sesshoumaru grinned to himself. This would indeed work.

After a while Kagome and Sesshoumaru both got out of their hot springs. Sesshoumaru dressed himself becoming coming into Kagome's view. Kagome was still in her bathing suit. She smiled at Sesshoumaru and he returned her smile. She watched as he passed her and left the hot springs. She followed shortly after and headed up to her bedroom for a night of rest and relaxation.

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Eri: Woot Woot! I love being inspired! two chapters up in one day:D:D:D well, lemme know where to go and what you think. I am open to suggestions. Well, thats all for now! Review! lol


	18. New Sword, Unexpected Guests

Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters are not mine. Anyone not appearing in the show, are mine.

**Chapter 18: A New Sword and Unexpected Guests**

Sesshoumaru had been awake all night. It was 2 days ago that he trained with Kagome. He had spent the entire next day in his study with Lord Bushimeiyo planning the counter attack against Naraku. They couldn't afford to make the slightest miscalculation so they had been intensely focused. He was now in his room and he walked out onto the balcony. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon. It was time for him to return to Totosai's hut to retrieve Kagome's new sword. He told one of the servants that were outside of his room that he was leaving and would be back before the day was through and took off on his youkai cloud. He was in for a long day and he hoped it would be worth it.

Kagome woke up in her bed to the sound of birds chirping. She turned over to face the window and noticed that the sun had arisen. It had been 2 days since she had trained with Sesshoumaru. Yesterday had been completely uneventful. Today however was different. Today was the day that she was to receive her courting gift from Sesshoumaru to officially begin the ritual. She smiled and rose out of her bed, yawning. By the looks of things it was still fairly early in the morning. She could hear some of the servants bustling around the castle, but there weren't very many. Breakfast wouldn't be prepared for another hour or so. She decided to take this chance to practice meditation. She quickly changed into a kimono and walked down to the garden. She walked until she reached the spot that Rin had shown her during her first trip to the garden. She settled down against the same tree as before and closed her eyes. This time, she allowed her mind to wander for a little while. She thought about Naraku, she thought about Sesshoumaru, she thought about Shippo and Rin, and finally she thought about the gang she had left behind. She drew her thoughts in again and attempted to think about nothing. Again it didn't work. Once again, she focused on Sesshoumaru and breathed deep even breaths. She felt her power increasing as she focused.

Sesshoumaru had been flying for a good 3 hours before he finally reached Totosai's place. He landed softly outside but it seemed that the old man had still noticed him. He came outside to greet him.

"Ah, Sesshoumaru! I assume you've come for the sword." He said.

"Indeed."

"Well then, follow me. Won't get anywhere if we keep standing around." Totosai said as he walked.

They made it inside and Totosai went straight for the sword. Handing it to Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru unsheathed it and tested it's weight. It was just like Totosai to make his swords perfectly.

"She turned out to be a very good sword if I do say so myself. Her name is Junseisubeta(Pure sword). It's able to put up a barrier to protect the one who weilds it. It will amplify Kagome's powers. It will react if you are in danger when she weilds it. This ability is called the Suki Hogosha(love protector). If you are in need of her assistance it will purify your enemy without causing any harm to you. The swords weakest attack aside from swinging it around is called Seiitsu Bakuha(Purity Blast). It is a blast of pure energy based on the swords power alone that will purify weak enemies. The second most powerful is the Herutsu Arashi(Heart Storm). It causes the opponents heart to fail but increases Kagome's heart rate, drawing on her power. The swords ultimate attack is called the Reiiyouku Oonami(Spiritual Power Surge). It is a surge of her spiritual power that only she can master. It will kill any demon within 20 miles in the line of fire."

Sesshoumaru was thoroughly impressed with the sword.

"However, it doesn't allow just anyone to hold it. It allows you because it is made from your fang and it will allow Kagome because it is made for her. Other than that, no one should touch it. It will protect itself against them." Totosai told him. He thought that he could at least warn him. Sesshoumaru nodded in response and paid him for his troubles.

"It is well made. Kagome will be pleased." He said before leaving. He flew back to the castle as fast as he could. It was already mid morning.

Kagome sat in the garden feeling her powers slowly increasing. She opened her eyes to the sound of childrens laughter. She looked up to see the two playing on their bedroom balcony(Eri: Yes, they have one too. I like balconies, leave me alone. lol.). She smiled at the two. Her strength felt so high. She felt like she could have flipped a car over her head if there had been any around. She decided that they may as well go down to get some breakfast. She went up to their room and collected the two hyper children and get them some food. When she got to the room the two nearly pounced on her.

"Okaa chan! Is it time for breakfast yet?" Shippo asked.

"Can we go play in the garden!" Rin nearly yelled.

Kagome had to calm them down before she could answer. "Yes it is time for breakfast and we can play in the garden after we eat ok?" She said. The children seemed pleased with her answer and she lead them down to the dining hall where it was breakfast as normal. Kagome was feeling hungrier than usual. She was nervous. Naraku had to be close to the castle by now, surely. She just hoped that they could stop him. She found herself flashing back to the night before, seeing Sesshoumaru's anger towards Naraku for trying to take her from him. He had promised that he would not let him take her. The thought made her smile. She wished he was hear with her now. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and nuzzle her face into his shoulder.

_In the woods_

Everything was quiet. There wasn't a sound anywhere. No birds chirping, no small animals running around. It was too quiet.

"The plan is in motion. Kagome will be ours soon and Sesshoumaru will be dead, leaving the western lands to me." Naraku said. He had been waiting in the shadows for his army of demons to pass him. They would attack first and Naraku would show his face after they did some damage. The plan seemed fool proof.

"Are you sure this plan will work?" Kagura asked. She had landed beside him only seconds before.

"The only way that this plan could fail would be if they somehow knew we were coming. But that is not possible now is it?" He spoke, red eyes glaring at Kagura.

"No." she replied, lowering her gaze to the ground.

"By tonight Kagome and the western lands will belong to me!" Naraku said with an evil grin. "And ultimate power will belong to me..."

_Back to the Sesshoumaru_

Sesshoumaru had been flying at top speed for a good three hours before the castle came into sight. He was relieved to see it but at the same time he had never felt so uneasy. What would he do if she would not accept his gift? Granted she had already said that she would allow him to court her but his gift must be satisfactory to begin the courting ritual. He would have to explain to her how the ritual works, what the steps are, and last but not least, how it moves to the mating ritual. He sighed to himself. He would have a lot of things to explain. However, first things first. He had to get to the castle so that he could give her the sword and prepare for battle. The thought of protecting Kagome gave him an extra burst of energy as he sailed towards the castle at break neck speed.

_Back to the castle_

After breakfast Kagome took the children out to play in the garden again. She had to admit, she had taken a liking to the garden. It was peaceful. She sat next to her favourite tree as they played. The morning dew was still on the grass, so she had put down a blanket she had been carrying and sat on it. The sun was still low in the sky. She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned against the tree for support. 'Sesshoumaru, where are you?' She couldn't get her mind off of him. Naraku could be here any minute and she wouldn't have him to protect her.

Just then she was brought out of her thoughts by a familiar voice yelling.

"Come on man! Just let me see Kagome!" the voice said. It confused Kagome greatly so she called over a nearby servant to watch the children as she went to investigate. The voice had come from the castle entrance. When she got there she found Inuyasha trying to fight his was past the guards and MIroku, Sango, Kikyo and Kirara standing behind rolling their eyes at him. She went up to the head guard and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok. They are my friends."

The head guard nodded to her and called the rest of the guards off, leaving Inuyasha confused that they had stopped trying to force him away.

"What the...? Kagome!" he yelled after realizing what was going on. He ran to her side. "I need to talk to you about something." He said cutting straight to the point. "But not here. We must talk in private."

"You came all this way just to talk to me?" She said. She was amazed that he would actually do this. She was about to say more when a loud growl made Sesshoumaru's presence known. He had landed in time to see Inuyasha run to Kagome.

"What are you doing here half breed?" He asked menacingly, flexing his claws as he spoke.

"Sesshoumaru, It's ok. He just wants to talk to me." Kagome said to him reassuringly.

"That half breed is not welcome in MY castle." He was about to attack him when Kagome stepped in front of him.

"NOO!" her protest surprised Sesshoumaru and he stopped immediately. "He is my friend Sesshoumaru. Please." She pleaded with him.

Sesshoumaru sighed and announced that Inuyasha would be allowed in the castle for 3 days and no more. Kagome jumped for joy and the others all breathed a sigh of relief. Sesshoumaru walked towards them. In Kagome's ear he whispered "I have your gift." and glared at Inuyasha before entering the castle. Kagome grinned at his words. He had her present. Unfortunately for her, Inuyasha had heard what he said. (Eri: Damn those cute 'lil doggy ears!)

"What present Kagome?" He asked her, poking her to get her attention. Kagome blushed.

"Umm...the one that starts the courting ritual..." She answered, unsure of how to say it. She had planned on telling them at a later time but now she was being forced to. All four of their jaws dropped and kirara just mewled, tilting her head to the side. Kagome sighed. She figured she may as well explain before she was flooded with questions.

"Sesshoumaru really warmed up to me when he found out how strong I really am. Don't ask me how, cause I don't know. I just sorta...fell for him. The next thing I know he is asking to court me..." She said. She wanted to make sure she worded it right because she knew the questions would never end otherwise. "That's really all I can say about it right now. He isn't officially courting me yet..."

Sango was the first to snap back to reality. She shreaked happily, jumping. Kagome laughed at her reaction and Sango ran over and hugged her.

"Congratulations!" She said.

"You aren't going to warn me and say 'But this is Sesshoumaru we're talking about..'?" She asked, surprised by her friends reaction.

"Nope. If you are in love with him, I won't stand in your way. He could use someone like you to soften him up." She said, winking at her friend. Kagome smiled and hugged her.

"You have no idea how much that means to me." She said, beaming. Miroku, Inuyasha and Kikyo had snapped out of it by now. Kagome looked at Kikyo and noticed a look in her eyes. It gave her a bad feeling. She couldn't explain it but she would have to keep an eye on her.

"YOU'RE WHAT? YOU'RE BEING COURTED BY THAT JERK! SESSHOUMARU! GET BACK OUT HERE SO I CAN RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome glared at him. 

"Inuyasha.."

His ears flattened. He knew what was coming next.

"SIT!"

Thump.

"Well, he had that one coming." Miroku said, walking past Inuyasha's limp body. He patted Kagome on the shoulder. "If this is what you truly desire, I will stand behind you."

"As long as you keep your hands to yourself from behind me." Kagome joked, making everyone laugh except Inuyasha. "Well, like Sesshoumaru said, you are welcome to stay here for three days. Shippo and Rin are playing in the garden right now. I will take you all to them and then I will leave you with them to go get rooms made up for you. We weren't exactly expecting company." She said, rubbing that back of her head.

"Yeah" Said Inuyasha who had finally pried himself off the ground. "Your guards weren't exactly being gracious hosts..."

"I can explain that later." She said with a nervous laugh.

They reached the garden in no time. It wasn't far from the front gates. Shippo saw Inuyasha's red get up out of the corner of his eye.

"INUYASHA!" He yelled, running to the silver haired hanyou. He jumped up on his shoulders but Inuyasha didn't seem to mind. He had secretly missed the little guy. He walked away from the group to play with the kids, which totally shocked everyone in the group.

"Well...that was unexpected..." Kagome said. "Oh well, You can all wander around exploring the garden for a while. Don't go inside the castle yet because it's huge and it's really easy to get lost in. I still do. I'm going to go talk to the servants and have your rooms prepared and I'll see if I can calm Sesshoumaru down a bit. He doesn't like the fact that Inuyasha is in his castle."

"I HEARD THAT!" Inuyasha yelled from playing with the children. Rin was pulling on his sleeves and Shippo was still on his shoulders.

"You were supposed to." She called back. To the rest she said "I'll just be a little while. In the meantime, have fun without me."

They all watched as Kagome walked back to the gates and into the castle.

"I would never have thought that Sesshoumaru would court a human. Doesn't this also mean he's considering mating her?" Miroku asked Sango.

"Yea, once they are through the courting ritual, the mating ritual begins." Sango answered. She had spent alot of time as a kid studying demons and their habits, seeing as she was a demon slayer from a village full of demon slayers.

Kikyo hadn't said a word the whole time. She had a smug smile on her face and there was a look on her eye that had creeped Kagome out a fair amount. She seemed to be contemplating what was going on. The smile looked as though she had planned everything that was happening. Like she knew what was coming next.

_In the castle_

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome called out through the castle halls. She was trying to find him while trying to find someone to set up the guest rooms. So far she was having no luck. She had never seen the castle being this seemingly empty. Not even when she woke up this morning. She assumed that everyone was off preparing for battle.

"Sesshoumaru?" She called again. This time she was pleased to see Sesshoumaru round the corner up ahead. "Sesshoumaru!" She called, more certain this time.

"Oh, I'm so glad I found you." She said. "I know you don't want them in your castle. I just wanted to thank you for letting them stay. They will be helpful to us when Naraku arrives."

'Impressive, she is thinking of them as allies instead of just friends right now...' "Kagome, Come with me." He said, turning from her and walking away.

Kagome had a feeling she knew what was going on to she followed him. He led her straight to his bedroom and closed the door behind them. He then went out onto the balcony. Kagome walked out with him and leaned on the railing. From here, they could see everything that was going on in the garden and it was beautiful.

"Kagome."

"Hmm?"

Sesshoumaru had turned to her. He had managed the hide the sword from her in amongst his other swords on the way in. He pulled it from his waist, bent down on one knee and offered it for her to grab.

"With the offering of this sword, Will you allow me to court you?" He asked, somehow keeping his respectful manner in this not so respectful position.

Kagome reached out and took it from his hands. The sword was beautiful. The hilt was made of silver with what appeared to be emeralds embedded in it. The sheath was black with a white dog etched across it. It was well polished. When she picked it up from his hands, it pulsed in hers, surprising her.

"It is made from one of my fangs. It has been forged specifically for you. It's powers enhance miko powers and it uses miko attacks. It's name is Junseisubeta.However it is very picky with it's owners so no one but you or I should touch it at the risk of being purified." Sesshoumaru spoke as if he were all knowing.

Kagome nodded to his words. 'What a fitting name, it means pure sword...' She smiled to herself, unsheathing the sword. The blade grew to the size of a broad sword but weighed the same as a katana. It was glowing the same light blue as her arrows. She handed Sesshoumaru the sheath and held in front of her in an offensive position(Eri: No, not offensive as in insulting someone:P). The sword seemed to reaction to her state of mind and grew in length. She switched to defense and it reacted defensively. She was thoroughly impressed. It was only then that she realized that she hadn't answered Sesshoumaru. She turned to see that he was still on his knees. She reached a hand out for the sheath and sheathed the sword. She went down on one knee and put a finger under Sesshoumaru's chin to draw his gaze in.

"I accept." She said with the worlds biggest smile.

Sesshoumaru had never been more relieved to hear two words in his life. He did something that was totally out of character for him. He smiled. Not just one of those little "i'm slightly amused" smiles. It was a full blown heart felt smile.

Kagome's breath caught in her chest when he smiled. She had never seen someone so gorgeous in all her life. She had never expected to react like this when he smiled, but here she was trying to teach herself how to breathe. Sesshoumaru noticed her reaction and nearly laughed before he realized how much emotion he would have been showing. He sighed inwardly at himself. 'Sesshoumaru, You've gone soft.' He shook his head at himself, utterly confusing Kagome. He saw her confusion and found himself nearly laughing again. These emotions were frustrating him to no end. He rose to his feet and took Kagome by the arm, helping her up as well.

"Here" he said, taking junseisubeta out of her hands and putting it gently in her obi, strapping it securely to her waist. "This afternoon we shall test it. You will be needing it in the battle against Naraku."

Kagome had only just forgotten about him and he had brought him back up. 'Damn it!' She thought to herself.

"How soon do you think he will be here?" She asked, looking up into his eyes with worry etched across her features. Sesshoumaru noticed her worry and placed a hand on her cheek.

"The soonest would be tonight. Do not worry my miko, I will not allow any harm to come to you." He traced her jawline gently with one claw. "Naraku will pay for his ignorance." The last part had a sting attached to it. Kagome knew he was angry at Naraku as she watched him move away from her and walk slowly into his bed chambers.

"Sesshoumaru.." She said questioningly, following him inside. He turned around to face her. She had her head hung low. Sesshoumaru could smell the tears in her eyes and immediately grew protective of her.

"Do not cry miko." He said, walking closer to her.

"Just promise me something." She said, "Just promise me that you won't let him kill you. I would rather die so you can live than to live to see you die." Her head was still low while she had been speaking. She raised her eyes to look at him, tears threatening to escape. "Just promise me!" She yelled before wrapping her arms around him and sobbing into his shoulder.

Sesshoumaru was stunned. She was worried about him. She had said that she would rather give her own life than see him die. To a demon, that meant that she would most definately mate with him. He returned her embrace and nuzzled his nose into her hair.

"Do not worry little miko, I will not allow myself to be killed." He spoke softly and reassuringly. Kagome nodded into his shoulder, tears residing. This whole thing was really worrying her.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru said, drawing himself out of her grasp. She protested for a second before allowing him to leave. "I must prepare the castle for battle. Know that after lunch we shall train with your new sword." The last words brought him great joy. 'her new sword. She accepted, YES!' He was mentally jumping for joy but by his demeanour you would have never known. He coolly walked away from her and paused at the door, looking back at Kagome. She still looked worried so he decided to do the one last thing he could do for her. He smiled reassuringly. Just as he had hoped, she had been calmed by it.

When Sesshoumaru left the room Kagome walked out to the balcony. Her emotions had never confused her more in her life. Shew as both filled with joy and extreme worry at the same time. However, Sesshoumaru had managed to calm that worry with his words and smiles until the worry was nearly completely gone. She allowed a smile to grace her lips as she watched the others in the garden. 'OH NO! THE OTHERS! I TOTALLY FORGOT TO HAVE ROOMS PREPARED!AHHH!' She mentally screamed at herself and ran from the room in search of a servant. It wasn't long before she bumped into an elderly female inuyoukai.

"Oh! Excuse me. Would you happen to know who I can ask to have bed chambers prepared for my guests?" She asked the elderly youkai who merely chuckled at her.

"That would be me milady." She answered. "How many do you have staying?"

"Well, there's Kikyo and Sango, but I'm sure they won't mind sharing a room. There's also Miroku. Oh! And Inuyasha."

The elderly females eyes went wide at the mention of Inuyasha. "Inu...yasha...? He is here!" She asked.

Kagome laughed. "Yes, he is here. He will be staying for 3 days."

"Does Lord Sesshoumaru know of this?"

"Haha, Yes, he is the one who permitted him to stay for three days only. Although I must admit I kinda coaxed him into it." She said. Her words and the kind heart with which she spoke them reassured the youkai.

"Very well. I shall prepare 2 rooms. One for the females and one for the males. Good day milady." She said before walking away. Kagome was relieved to have finally spoken with someone about preparing their rooms. She decided that now would be a good time to join her friends in the garden. She walked through the large castle corridors until she reached the main gates and walked from the gates to the garden, greeting everyone she passed.

"Hey guys! Come here a second!" She called to her friends. Everyone stopped what they were doing, including the children and came to see what was going on. Kikyo however seemed to be missing.

"What's up Kagome?" Sango asked her.

"Sesshoumaru gave me my courting gift. Look!" she drew the sword and everyone took a step back. They were amazed by what they saw. It was beautiful. "It's made from one of Sesshoumaru's fangs. It is called Junseisubeta. I haven't really figured out how to use it yet though." She admitted.

"Hey, that's almost as cool as Tetsusaiga!" Inuyasha said and was briskly walloped over the head by miroku's staff. "What the hell!"

"That's cool Okaa chan! Can I see!" Shippo yelled. He tried to jump to grab it but Kagome quickly manouvered it into a position Shippo could not reach.

"No Shippo. It has a barrier around it that will purify ANYONE that isn't me or Sesshoumaru and touches it." Shippo immediately backed off hearing these words.

"Listen guys. There is something you should know." Kagome readied herself to tell them about Naraku's attack approaching. "The reason the castle in on such a high alert is that Naraku is about to attack. Some of the spies of the demon lord of the east over heard his plans. He is launching an attack on us tonight. He believes that it will be a surprise so we have readied the castle to defend ourselves against him. His plan is to kill Sesshoumaru and kidnap me because Kikyo is no longer in his grasp. I'm not sure what exactly Sesshoumaru's plans are to defend the castle but we could use your help. It's kind of a strange coincidence that you would show up now, of all times." Kagome finished what she was saying.

Everyone was shocked by what they had heard. They had been searching for Naraku for so long and tonight he was coming to them.

"Perfect chance for revenge right Kikyo? Kikyo?" Inuyasha had only just noticed that she was missing. "Hey guys, where is Kikyo?"

Everyone looked around but no one saw her or had seen her leave. They all shrugged and assumed that she was just exploring the garden or meditating somewhere.

"Kagome, can I talk with you in private? That's kinda the whole point in us coming here.." Inuyasha said. He was becoming impatient to speak with her. She nodded in response and left Miroku, Sango and Kirara to play with the children. Kagome led Inuyasha to the same place that Rin had led her on her first day. She wandered up to the pond and found herself in the same position she had been in the first time she came here. She was twirling her finger around in the water.

"Kagome, Listen." Inuyasha started. He never was good with personal talks. It just wasn't like him. "I know you were mad when I had Kikyo join us. I never ment to make you upset, I just wanted everyone to be happy. I guess I failed miserably."

"It wasn't just that Inuyasha. That was just the last straw. I thought I was in love with you and everytime Kikyo showed up you would leave me for her. I held onto the supposed feelings I had for you as long as I could but I guess you could say I failed miserably too. I can't say that I wasn't hurt by your actions because that would be a lie. But now that I think about it, all those times you pushed me away, led me to the arms of someone who never will. Someone who I love more that words can say."

Inuyasha sat in silence as he took in her words, his ears flattened against his head. She had been hurt EVERY time he left to see Kikyo. He never understood until now and felt absolutely terrible. He care for her. She was the first person other than his mother to truly accept him as a half demon and he had hurt her time and time again. 'Damn it!'

"Kagome...I didn't know..." He said, lowering his eyes to the floor. "I never ment to hurt you. I'm sorry."

Kagome smiled warmly at him. "I forgive you. You are my best friend and my intendeds brother. Which technically makes you my brother. I will always love you as my brother." She reached out and gave him a soft hug.

Inuyasha smiled. She had forgiven him. He wrapped his arms around her gently.

"Thank you...sister"

_Back in the woods_

"Have you done it?"

"Hai. They are at the castle as we speak Naraku."

"Well done Kikyo."

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Eri: BOOYAH! WHAT A CLIFF HANGER! BAM! lol. Well, lemme know whatcha thought. It's about 1:30 in the morning right now. If ya'll have time, read my newest story and tell me what you think. I'm trying my hand out at a different type of Sesshoumaru romance. Well, please review. I gotta go. CYA!


	19. Training

Author's note: Hey all. I'm SOOO sorry for leaving you hanging there. Worst possible place to leave you. Please forgive me and I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. I've had a CRAPLOAD of working to do.

Disclaimer: The usual.

**Chapter 19: Training**

Kagome and Inuyasha parted for different parts of the castle. Kagome was grateful that things were finally cleared up between them. She didn't want to be upset anymore. Not with him. He was like a brother to her now, and when she and Sesshoumaru mated, they would be brother and sister. Now all she had to do was attempt to settle the feud between the brothers. 'That oughta be good for a laugh.' She thought, giggling to herself. She knew that attempting to get them to like each other would be to attempt the impossible.She sighed to herself. It was nearly noon now so she decided to make her way to the dining hall. Many of Sesshoumaru's servants bowed to her as she passed. More so than usual. She assumed that someone had let out the news of Sesshoumaru courting her and graciously nodded to each of them. In the castle halls she was joined by Miroku, who just happened to be heading in the same direction.

"So Kagome, I hear that you are being trained to use your new sword this afternoon. It is a wise move considering Naraku is nearly on the doorstep. He'll be quite the challenge. I hope your sword holds up." That was the wrong thing to say.

"MIROKU! Don't you think I'm worried enough about it as it is? I don't want to even THINK that the sword will break!" She yelled at him, storming away, leaving behind a very flustered Miroku. Shippo had been walking with Rin close behind.

"He'll never learn." He said, rolling his eyes.

Kagome stormed towards the dining hall. When she reached it, Sesshoumaru was already there. She stormed over to her spot and sat down. Sesshoumaru could almost feel the anger radiating off of her.

"What is the matter?" He asked her.

"It's nothing. Miroku just said the wrong thing at the wrong time." She answered curtly.

Sesshoumaru eyed her. She was amusing when she was angry. It was then that Miroku walked in and Sesshoumaru nearly growled at him for angering Kagome. He went to stand up but Kagome grabbed his wrist gently.

"Don't." She said softly, calming his anger with the monk. He looked at her gently and sat down gracefully.

Miroku had sensed his hostility and looked at Kagome who herself was still angry. He assumed that she had told Sesshoumaru, angering him as well. He saw Sesshoumaru rise from his seat and assumed he was a dead man walking. He took a step back, closed his eyes and braced himself only to find that nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see Kagome's hand on Sesshoumaru wrist. She said something quietly to him that Miroku couldn't hear and it immediately calmed him. Miroku breathed a sigh of relief. 'Seems that even when she is angry with me, Kagome will not let me be killed...thank you Kagome.' He walked over to her and bowed.

"Kagome, please forgive me. I did not mean to upset you. I did not realize that you were so nervous for this battle. My apologies." He said still bowing.

Kagome looked up at him when he walked over, her eyes blazing with the fire of her ire. Miroku's words were like a bucket of water being poured on her. The fire behind her eyes was almost immediately extinguished.

"You are forgiven Miroku." She said, smiling to him. Miroku bowed to her once more, raising his head smiling.

Sesshoumaru had been watching the whole scene. He was surprised at how easily Kagome forgave her friends. It was like at a signle word her emotions pulled a complete 180 degrees! She was truly an intriguing woman. Her emotions changed with the wind. It didn't take much at all. He would have to remember how Miroku had apologized, should he ever come to need to apologize which was EXTREMELY unlikely for him.

Shortly afterwards, Inuyasha walked in with the children, and Sango and Kirara in tow. Once the whole gang was seated around the table, the servants brought in their food. There was a wide variety and Kagome, as ususal, could not decide. She glanced over at Sesshoumaru to see him take that crucial first sip. She could tell that he did not like having Inuyasha at the table, let alone the humans that had come with him. He noticed her looking at him and looked back. She smiled understandingly as if she was telling him not to worry about them being here. He nodded to her and took another sip. Kagome turned back to the table of food. There was so much to choose from. All different fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains. She really had no idea what to eat. She looked around the table to see what everyone else chosen. Most of them had samplers(Eri: A sampler is a plate of food with a small amount of everything.). Inuyasha had a meat sampler, Shippo and Rin had fruit samplers, Sango decided to get a piece of chicken and some potatoes. Miroku had the same as Sango but with some carrots as well.

"Man.." Said Inuyasha, food nearly spilling out his mouth. "I haven't seen this much food in a LONG time."

Sesshoumaru was disgusted with his behaviour. "You will use manners in my house. Swallow before you speak." He said, receiving a short lived glare from Inuyasha who was kicked by Sango almost the same second he glared.

"HEY!" He yelled, rubbing his leg where he foot had left the mark. "THAT HURT!"

The rest just rolled their eyes. They had seen this before alot of times. It was getting old. Fast.

Kagome had finally given up on deciding between everything and grabbed the nearest thing to her. Beef. The next closest thing were the buns. She looked around to see if there was any butter, but she was out of luck. She sighed. Her sigh had not gone unnoticed. Sesshoumaru had heard her and was worried that she would be displeased with the selection of food.

"What is the matter, love?" He asked her.

Everyone's jaws dropped at the word love. They all knew that they were intended but they had not expected him to use the word so openly.

"Do my provisions not satisfy you?" He said sounding slightly worried.

"Oh, they do satisfy me. I have never seen such a feast without a reason for it and that is just it. I can not decide, and once I do, I can not be satisfied with my own choice because I consider all the options I did not take." She said, sounding almost monty python.

Her words had confused Sesshoumaru. "I do not know what you mean." He said bluntly.

"There is too much to choose from and I can not eat it all, which I desire to." She said, making her sentence much shorter. She received a nod from Sesshoumaru. She smiled and ate her bun dry.

Once they were all finished eating, Sesshoumaru rose to his feet. He dismissed everyone except Kagome. They left, Inuyasha taking Rin and Shippo with him. He had promised Kagome earlier on that he would be there for her and if this was the only way he could for now, he would do it. Sesshoumaru sat back down again and turned in his seat to face Kagome.

"Are you sure that you were satisfied?" He asked. "I must be sure that my intended is treated as well as I possibly can."

Kagome smiled and nodded cutely. "Uh huh! Don't worry Sesshoumaru. I don't need all these elaborate things. Just don't make me angry." She joked in the end, causing Sesshoumaru to chuckle softly. 'She may be human, but she is MY human!' He thought to himself, suddenly getting protective of his adorable miko.

"Come with me." He said, rising from the table and taking her hand. "It is time."

Kagome eyed him at first, not remembering that they were to train this afternoon. Once it hit her, she nearly laughed at her own stupidity. Sesshoumaru sensed her stifled laughter and turned to face her.

"What is so funny?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Ok, haha, first, don't narrow your eyes at me. Second, I was trying not to laugh at the fact that I had totally forgotten where we were going this afternoon and I thought you were dragging me somewhere strange." She said, allowing a bit of the laughter to spill out after the first word but sobering up enough to tell him what she was laughing at. He nearly laughed at her reason, but instead just allowed a smile to grace his lips.

"Just follow me, ok?" He said, still smiling at her. She giggled and nodded.

"OH WAIT!" She yelled, hurting his ears. "Oops, sorry! I forgot my sword in my room. I'm sorry if I hurt your ears just now." She said, seeing the pained look on his face.

"You are forgiven. Hurry to get your sword. I will await your return here." He said so her, nodding in acceptance to her apology. She smiled and ran up the stairs towards, her room, leaving Sesshoumaru to stand alone in the hallway. She desperately needed this training before tonight and she couldn't believe she had forgotten about it. She arrived in her room, grabbed her sword and ran back down as quickly as possible, securing the sheath to her waist. She made it back to a patiently waiting Sesshoumaru. She was surprised that she wasn't out of breath after taking all those stairs.

"Ok, I'm ready. Let's go." She said, reaching his side. He put his arm around her waist to keep her close, surprising her.

"Eep!" She squealed softly, before settling into his arm. They walked until the reached the dojo. Kagome saw as he went to enter it, releasing her and she laughed out loud.

"What?" He said, turning back to her.

"If we train in there, we'll destroy the dojo. I suggest we train out here." She said, spreading her arms out to exaggerate the open space. Sesshoumaru sighed.

"Very well. Draw your sword." He said, drawing Tokijin. Kagome gasped.

"No! I can't go against Tokijin! It'll destroy me!" She was scared.

"I am the one weilding it. I am in full control. You will be fine. Draw your sword." He said repeating himself. Kagome nodded shakily, drawing Junseisubeta. She was really apprehensive about facing off with Tokijin. She had seen it's power before. Until now Sesshoumaru had only used Tensaiga on her, which could not harm her. This sword could destroy her with the drop of a dime. She took a defensive stance nervously. She trusted that Sesshoumaru would not hurt her but to her this was like facing off with Tetsusaiga. She felt the sword pulse in her hands. 'Ok Junseisubeta, show me what you can do." she said as it transformed and began to glow with her aura. She was shocked but maintained her stance. Sesshoumaru charged her and she held up the sword to protect, feeling it place a barrier around her. Sesshoumaru was allowed through the barrier, however it stopped his sword from entering, causing him to drop it outside of the barrier.

'Impressive...' Sesshoumaru thought as he nearly collided with her. He had not expected the barrier to appear, and when it had, he hadn't expected to pass through it. 'Let's see what she can do to attack me.' He thought, drawing himself out of her barrier, picking up Tokijin and assuming a defensive stance.

Kagome was amazed that she had managed to create a barrier. She saw Sesshoumaru pass through it and assumed that it was because he was the one whose fang created the sword. She shook it off and watched Sesshoumaru draw back and take a defensive stance. She knew what he wanted, but she was unsure of how to go about it. She was about to lower her sword when it pulsed strongly in her hands, drawing her attention. 'Show me what to do...' she thought, directed towards the sword. It responded as if it had heard her thoughts. She looked up to see the evil aura around Tokijin swirling. She looked back to her own sword to see it glowing brightly and she knew immediately what to do.

"Seiitsu Bakuha!" She yelled, swinging the sword down towards the ground. She watched as a stream of pure energy shot from the sword towards Sesshoumaru. He had been caught off guard.

Sesshoumaru watched Kagome as she contemplated her next move. He felt as the power of her sword increased. He watched as she attacked. The fact that she had managed to perfom the attack on the first time had caught him off guard. He watched as the power came towards him. He didn't have a chance to dodge.

Kagome watched amazed at herself. She had assumed that Sesshoumaru would be able to dodge but she watched as he was completely enveloped in the light. The gasped, dropping her sword to the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

"SESSHOUMARU!" She screamed as she ran to him, crying at the thought of losing him.

She gasped at what she saw when the light had faded away. Sesshoumaru had protected himself using tensaiga, but he still looked pretty beat up.

"Sesshoumaru!" She ran to him and knelt in front of him, placing a hand on his cheek. "Are you alright? Please tell me I didn't hurt you!" She said in a worried/panicy voice.

Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Do not worry my miko. I am unharmed. But it is obvious that you do not need practice with your sword. It will guide you in your moves." He said, panting. Kagome nearly cried out of relief when he told her that he was alright. She threw her arms around his neck and held him tightly.

"Please don't make me do that again. I nearly killed you!" She cried into his shoulder, letting it all out. Sesshoumaru's heart melted the instant he smelt her tears.'She is crying for me...' He wrapped his arms around her and drew her in closer to himself, placing one hand on the back of her head, the other around her shoulders.

"I will not make you do that again. I promise." He said to her as he allowed her to continue crying, attempting to soothe her. They stayed that way for nearly an hour before Sesshoumaru slowly pulled himself away from her.

"Kagome, we must prepare the castle for battle. I will not allow you to remain outside the castle walls." He said gently, drawing her to her feet once more. She stared up into his eyes. She had nearly forgotten all about Naraku. He must be close by now. The thought sent a chill down her spine and Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around her shoulder, guiding her back to the castle. Along the way, they were intercepted by Inuyasha.

"Have either of you guys seen Kikyo?"

Kagome cringed.

"I haven't seen her in since we got to the castle and I really need to talk to her." He said, looking about frantically.

"I do not smell the dead miko. She is not in my castle." Sesshoumaru said, not wanting to be speaking to his brother. Kagome squeezed his hand.

"WHAT! SHE'S NOT HERE! Where could she be!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Inuyasha, don't yell. There is no point. Neither of us know where she is." Kagome said, being patient with the overly loud hanyou. At her words, he shut his mouth and left. "That wasn't too hard..." She said watching his retreating back. "It usually takes alot more than that to make him leave..."

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru replied, smirking. She had been unaware of the exchange of glares that had passed between the inuyoukai brothers.

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Eri: Sorry bout the lateness and the shortness. Been busy with work and school and band practices. Please tell me what you thought. I had to cut this one short b-cuz of the up coming battle scene in the next chapter. Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that! Oh well, you probably all assumed anyways.

Sesshoumaru: Stop your babbling at once.

Eri: NO! sticks tongue out at him

Sesshoumaru: makes to cut it off

Eri: quickly pulls it back into her mouth HA! Too fast for you! Well, hope you enjoyed everyone!


	20. Winning Hearts and Battles

Disclaimer: Same as always

Eri: I'm SOOOOOOO friggen sorry about the wait. :( total writers block and one of the worst times to get it too. Well, I REALLY hope it was worth the wait. PLEASE reply:( this chapter is kinda an important one. Screw that, It's a REALLY important one.

**Chapter 20: Winning Hearts and Battles**

Kagome continued to stare after Inuyasha's retreating form until he was out of sight. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. They had a huge battle coming up and he couldn't find his love. He had to be worried. She mentally sighed and turned around to see that Sesshoumaru was also walking away from her. She frowned.

"Hey! You could have at least said you were leaving!" She yelled after him as she ran to catch up.

"We must make haste. I can smell Naraku already. He will be here shortly."

Kagome gasped. 'So soon?' She thought. She had been sure that it would be at least nightfall before he arrived. It was then that she sensed his jewel shards a few miles away from the castle. She stopped where she was and stared in their direction. She could sense the size of the army and shivered at the thought. She turned her thoughts to Sesshoumaru. 'Sesshoumaru, I'm sorry that I have brought this burden upon your house. I hope that no one gets hurt.' She looked towards him and noticed that he had stopped and was watching her. She blushed and jogged to him.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" She asked.

"Sesshoumaru." He answered. Noticing her looking at him questioningly he continued. "Just Sesshoumaru. You are my intended therefore there is no need to be so formal." She smiled at him.

"Ok, Sesshoumaru." She said bluntly before shying away and choosing her words more carefully. "If it were not for me, you would not be dealing with this. I'm sorry..."

Sesshoumaru heard her words and the fact that she thought he wouldn't gladly do this for her enraged him. He wrapped his arms around her waist understanding that she merely did not know how he truly felt. He drew her closer to himself until it wasn't physically possible to get any closer.

"Do not apologize my miko. It is my pleasure to do anything in my power to protect you. You are not the cause of this problem, you are the solution. You and Junseisubeta will be naraku's defeat. Just think of this as a chance to practice." He said smirking and nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck. Kagome let a small groan escape at his actions. The second he said that it would be his pleasure to do anthing to protect her she felt her heart melt. Had he not been holding her upright she would have become no more than a puddle on the floor.

The two were ripped from their thoughts by the sound of someone running towards them. Sesshoumaru's instincts got the better of him as he shoved Kagome behind him and drew tokijin. He was about to attack the one who approached but noticed that it was Lord Bushimeiyo. He growled his irritation at the moment between Kagome and himself being disrupted before sheathing Tokijin. Kagome pushed her way past him, noticing that something was not right with Lord Bushimeiyo.

"Lord Bushimeiyo!" She yelled as he stumbled and fell. She ran to his side. "What happened! Are you alright!" She asked him, helping him up.

"I am fine my lady. Lord Sesshoumaru, Naraku has another army coming up from behind us! I tried to get our army troops behind his first but we were intercepted by his army and forced to retreat to the castle! He is close to the castle!" Lord Bushimeiyo said, panic evident in his voice. Sesshoumaru bristled at his words.

'Damn it! How could I not sense them! He must have masked their presences. Naraku will pay for this trickery!' He nearly went into a blood rage but calmed as Kagome gasped and grabbed his arm. He looked down at her and saw that she was scared. For the first time he could see her fear on her face. He gently put his hand on hers and calmed her down with a low, gentle growl. He turned his attentions back to Bushimeiyo.

"How many of my troops have been harmed?"

"Very few my Lord." He said graciously.

Sesshoumaru stood in thought for a moment before answering. He turned to Kagome to speak first.

"Kagome, I need you to cast a barrier around the castle. One purifying anyone who comes in contact with it."

"Sesshoumaru, I'm not sure I can do one that big..." She answered, afraid of what might happen if she failed. She didn't want to lose control of her powers and end up harming Sesshoumaru.

"You can. I have faith in you. Now do it."

His confidence in her inspired herself to feel the same confidence in herself. She closed her eyes and focused all her energy. Before she knew what she was doing she felt a power surge flow from her body like none she had ever felt before. Once it was over her opened her eyes and squealed with glee at the sight of the barrier and an unharmed Sesshoumaru standing at her side. She nearly glomped him but contained herself knowing that the situation at hand most certainly called for restraint. She merely smiled the biggest, toothiest grin Sesshoumaru had ever seen, nearly causing him to smile. Instead, he turned to Bushimeiyo, trying desperately to hide the smile that was forcing it's way to his lips. Unfortunately for him Bushimeiyo noticed the struggle and chuckled at him.

"It's alright to smile Lord Sesshoumaru. It's not the end of the world." He said, smiling himself.

Sesshoumaru gave up and Bushimeiyo watched as the corners of his lips curled up into a small smile. Kagome noticed it and gasped, clasping her hand to her mouth over dramatically, causing Sesshoumaru to actually chuckle. He wrapped his arm around Kagome and whispered in her ear.

"Now is not the time to distract me. Once the battle is over, you may distract me all you like."

Kagome's eyes grew wide. 'Did he really just say that?' By the looks of the smirk on his face as he thought over the knew battle strategy he was planning, he did. Kagome blushed. Being courted to him was going to be fun. She mentally laughed at herself for thinking that before she heard Sesshoumaru speak.

"Lord Bushimeiyo, we shall gather the troops. 200 men shall be awaiting at the edges of my castles boundaries to lure Naraku into thinking that our army is small. The rest will be close to the castle walls. Make sure all the women and children are safe in the depths of my castle. This battle will be a gruesome one. Naraku dies tonight." Sesshoumaru said, his eyes turning cold the moment he began to speak. He was becoming angry after he finished until he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. He turned and saw Kagome looking up at him.

"Where do you want me? Please don't make me be alone." She said.

"You will not be left alone. You shall stay at my side. We will attack together once Naraku is in sight. I will not allow any harm to come to you and I will NOT allow Naraku to take you from me." His tone turned almost vicious with his last words. Kagome nodded to him, securing her hold on his arm.

"Let us go. We must prepare for battle." Sesshoumaru said, leading Kagome and Lord Bushimeiyo into the castle.

Once they were inside, Sesshoumaru summoned his warriors. Kagome was astonished at how large his troops actually were. It was mostly made up of Inuyoukai, though all of them fell short in comparison to Sesshoumaru. Most were dark haired, though there were a few blonde haired. Kagome also noticed a few kitsunes in the mix. Kagome felt herself ready to cry. All of these demons were about to fight a battle and perhaps not survive all because she was here. She lightly tapped Sesshoumaru on the arm as he was addressing them. He turned with irritated eyes but softened when he realized who it was.

"Sesshoumaru, this is gonna sound like an odd request but, do you think I could say a word?" She said. He raised an eyebrow at her before bowing his head and and taking a step behind her, bracing her shoulders with his hands.

Kagome turned to the troops and cleared her throat.

"Today you will fight a battle that is my fault." She paused when Sesshoumaru growled and squeezed her shoulders. "If I were not here you would not have to fight this battle. However, that is not the case. As it is my fault, I will do everything in my power to protect you. To any of you who will..." She choked on the sobs attempting to fight their way out, "...not survive this, I am truly sorry. Know that I will pray for your safe passage to the nether worlds and that your families will be cared for by myself. Please forgive me." She finished, backing down. She had expected to hear silence but was surprised to hear one voice yelling out.

"We will gladly fight for our Lord's Lady and one who cares so much about us!"

At these words, Kagome turned to the men, allowing one tear to roll down her cheek as they began to cheer. As the cheers died down, One soldier in the front knelt down to her. Then another. Then another. This continued until the entire army was kneeling before her. Kagome was shocked and looked to Sesshoumaru who smiled and nodded his approval.

---------

Eri: Oh man! I'm almost friggen crying myself!

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Kagome smiled to Sesshoumaru and stepped behind him signifying that she was done. Once she did this he addressed his men once more telling them that he was proud of their actions today. That they have all served their lady well. He could smell the tears that were pushing their way out her eyes. He encouraged his men to serve him well and to not be afraid because today will be the end of Naraku. Once this was finished his troops, along with Lord Bushimeiyo's, took their positions. Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome and saw her cave in to her emotions. She let the tears fall freely.

He put an arm around her back and his other hand on the back of her head and drew her into his embrace. He knew that the reality of what was about to happen had just hit her full force. She had seen the men who were willing to give their lives to protect her. She had spoken to them. She had heard their cheers of adoration and one soldiers pledge of allegiance for the rest. She knew that the men who would fight were individual men but it truly hit her how real they all were. She crying into Sesshoumaru's shoulders for the lives that would be lost today.

Kagome couldn't understand how Sesshoumaru could be so strong. He most likely knew the names of most of those demons. He had most likely spoken with them one on one and now he would have to watch them fight and perhaps even die. She looked up, wet feminine eyes meeting dry masculine ones. She could see a hidden emotion within them. A deep respect for those willing to protect his mate. 'Wait a minute, Since when did I think of myself as his mate?' Kagome confused herself for a moment and it didn't slip by Sesshoumaru. He smirked at her.

They were rudely interrupted from their thoughts. A silver haired hanyou accompanied by a monk and a demon slayer came running towards the two.

"It's started hasn't it." Miroku questioned.

"Yes." Sesshoumaru answered him.

"Alright Sesshoumaru, Just tell me where they are coming from and I'll go kill em all!" Inuyasha blurted out, receiving an irritated sigh from Sesshoumaru.

"No. You will remain with me. As much as I do not desire to have you by my side, Kagome will need all the guards she can get and considering you have already promised to protect her, you will prove yourself today." Sesshoumaru answered. Inuyasha was about to huff at first but at the thought of a chance to prove himself he quieted down and nodded in agreement. "As for the humans..." Kagome elbowed him in the ribs to correct himself. He growled but complied with her wishes. "As for Sango, Miroku, and the demon cat, you will also be with me. Though not by my own wishes, but by Kagome's." He looked to Kagome who smiled at him.

"thank you." She mouthed to him.

He answered by motioning for everyone to follow him. Kagome grabbed his hand as he began to walk away, so as to make sure that he wouldn't get to far away from her. They reached the gates in no time and Sesshoumaru took them to a hill behind his men where he could survey the battle scene in front of him. All sound ceased as they stood still, awaiting the battle. The only sound was the wind rustling the leaves in the trees and the sound that same wind made as it flicked their hair out behind them.

Kagome stood next to Sesshoumaru. The anticipation was killing her. As much as she did not desire to fight, she did not like waiting for the fight to begin. She said a silent prayer to the Kami's that the lives of their men would be spared in this fight. She drew her sword as the felt the evil presence draw nearer. Inuyasha saw her move and followed suite, transforming tetsusaiga. One by one they drew their weapons. Sesshoumaru last.

They watched in silence. The silence was broken by a loud screech in the forest that was caused by Naraku's demons. They burst through the forest and into the 200 men. Kagome watched in horror as the demons fought on both sides of the castle. She watched some of the men she had spoken to not a half an hour ago fall. She watched as thy also put a significant dent in Naraku's army.

"Shit."

"What is it Miroku?" Sango asked.

"Look up."

Much to miroku's displeasure, the sky was riddled with Saimyoshou. The numbers were far more numerous than they had ever seen, meaning that this was in fact Naraku himself and not merely one of his copies. Naraku would not send so many of his protectors away. As long as the Saimyoshou were here, Miroku's wind tunnel would be useless. He would have to rely on his sacred sutras and his staff. He frowned at the thought and drew everyone's attention to his discovery. Sesshoumaru was displeased to learn that he would have to lose such a valuable force and attempted to think of a way to avoid the loss. Suddenly it hit him. He turned to Kagome and picked her up, lifting her high into the air.

"Kagome, Sheathe your sword, draw an arrow, and purify the Saimyoshou." She quickly complied with his words. She waited until they were perfectly in line with the cloud of demon bees and fired, destroying them all with one arrow.

"HA! Take that!" She shouted with glee, forgetting Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears. "Oh! I'm sorry." She said sheepishly. He grunted in acceptance.

They landed on the ground, met by a thoroughly impressed looking Monk, Demon Exterminator and a Hanyou who couldn't seem to care in the least. Kagome was gleeming with pride. Her training with Sesshoumaru had allowed her to focus more intently and hit her target.

Naraku's forces pushed their way through the lessening amount of Sesshoumaru's demons and were making their way to the barrier. Sesshoumaru heard Kagome's heart beat increase. He felt the pain that was radiating off her at the sight of his men dying. He wrapped an arm protectively around her waist.

"I will not let Naraku have you. Be sure of that."He said in a deep soothing voice. Kagome accepted his words and braced herself to strengthen her barrier. It would not be easy to keep the barrier in place. She would have to concentrate. She cringed as she felt the first demon hit. It seemed as though every demon that hit it took a little more of her strength. The barrier narrowed down Naraku's force drastically. Kagome dropped to her knees, wincing in pain. By this time she had held off most of the demons. All that were left were the few closest to Naraku. Kagome's strength had been nearly completely drained. She knew that she would need to keep some to defeat Naraku and so she allowed the barrier to drop, letting in the demons.

Kagome allowed her breathing to return to normal before rising to her feet slowly at Sesshoumaru's side. He grabbed her arm and drew her up, supporting most of her weight.

"Well done my miko. But we are not finished yet." He spoke softly in her ear. She grunted softly in agreement. "He is coming."

Kagome looked up and saw him. Naraku. He was following closely behind his forces, Kagura in the air with Kanna. Much to their surprise, Redishikyo was also at his side. She was distracted however by a very familiar voice.

"Don't you ever get tired of not knowing what is happening Inuyasha?" The voice said. Kagome turned her head to see Kikyo pointing an arrow at Inuyasha's head. She felt a little less than shocked. 'How did I know this would happen?' She thought to herself. She saw the look on Inuyasha's face and felt her heart break for him. Her was stuck between a look of betrayal and heart break. That was it. She had to step in.

"Kikyo, that's enough. Don't you think you've hurt Inuyasha enough? If you want a fight here, It's going to be with me." She said, staring down the evil woman who had caused her so much heart break.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha said softly. No one had ever stood up for him before. Not like this.

"You again? Huh. I would have thought you would have let me hurt him after how he treated you." Kikyo answered her coldly, turning her arrow on Kagome.

"Not a chance. He's still my friend no matter what kind of crap he puts me through." She said, drawing her sword once more. This time it pulsed in her hands. 'Ok, this is the end of that clay miko.' "Today I will help you find peace. Know that I hold no ill will towards the Kikyo that once lived." She pulled her sword in front of her and began to glow a brilliant blue.

Kikyo became frightened by the amount of power that Kagome was giving off. She attempted to stop her by releasing her arrow but it merely bounced off of the blue light surrounding her. Kagome smirked.

"That will not work. SEIITSU BAKUHA!" She yelled sending a wave of purifying power blasting from her sword and completely destroying the dead miko. Kagome dropped to one knee, leaning her weight on Junseisubeta. "Inuyasha, forgive me. I did what I had to do. She will be at peace now." She rose to her feet, everything in her screaming for her to stay down. The only thing pushing her on was the will to protect her friends. She walked to Inuyasha's side and saw a mixture of relief and heart break. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.

"I'm sorry..." She said softly.

"It's not your fault. You helped her. She didn't deserve to keep going on living like this." He answered wrapping his arms around the miko in return.

"Kagome." A loud voice snapped her back to reality. "He is nearing. Ready yourself."

Kagome looked to see Sesshoumaru place tokijin in front of his body and turned her eyes to see what he was looking at. Naraku was indeed close. He was a mere 40 yards away. 'Holy crap! How did I let him get so close!' She thought to herself, releasing Inuyasha and drawing the sword in front of her, finding a new strength in the thought that those she cared about could be in danger.

"Sesshoumaru! Lower your weapon. The wench is MINE!" Naraku screaming running towards Sesshoumaru who dodged his attack and readied himself for the next. Unfortunately for him the next attack was not coming from Naraku. Kagura had made her way up behind him while he was distracted.

"DANCE OF THE DRAGONS!" She yelled, sending her winds hurling his way, Sesshoumaru was hit full force. He landed 20 feet away. Inuyasha was the next to move.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" He yelled as he sent an attack towards Kagura and as soon as it left his blade he sent another one towards her in the direction she had dodged. Kagura did not get the chance to move. She screamed as his attack blew her to pieces. He turned his eyes to a very pissed off Naraku. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kagome running to Sesshoumaru's side. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lift him to his feet. Inuyasha heard Sesshoumaru's growl and grinned.

"Hey! Naraku! You hear that! That's the sound of your death!" He yelled as he nodded to Sesshoumaru and both attacked Naraku at once. Naraku ducked out the only way he could. Backing up. As soon as the attack had passed he ran towards Kagome. He almost made it to her when she lifted Junseisubeta about her head.

"Herutsu Arashi!" She yelled, bringing the sword down.

Naraku stopped in his tracks clutching his heart. He dropped to his knees from the pain. Kagome had dropped to her knees as well. That attack took alot out of her. She looked up to see a look of confusion and anger cross Naraku's face.

'Here it comes.' She thought. "Good bye Naraku." She said with a hint a smirk in her voice. She watched intently as the pain grew more and more intense in the hanyou's eyes. She felt her heart rate increasing and knew that soon Naraku would be dead. She felt her last ounce of strength leave her as she looked up to see Naraku's lifeless body flop to the ground. Everything fell black as she allowed her body to fall unconcious, regaining it's strength.

"KAGOME!"

Everyone was shocked to hear the voice of the demon lord of the west yelling for the human girl. They watched as she hit the ground and a second later they watched Sesshoumaru pick her up again.

Sesshoumaru saw Kagome drop and became (Eri: Dare I say it?) frightened. Frightened that he would lose his miko. He called after her, and ran to her, picking her up in his arms. 'Kagome, I'm sorry I could not give you my strength. Please be alright. I couldn't keep living without you.' He thought, nuzzling her gently. He turned his back to the others and took her into the castle. The battle was over and Naraku was defeated. Once he was away from the others he let his mask down. He let the tears slip down his face, not losing his gracious and powerful appearance.

Kagome woke to the feel of something wet hitting her face. She opened her eyes and found it hard to focus. Once she managed to do so, what she saw nearly broke her heart. Sesshoumaru was crying. Her big strong demon was crying.

"Se...sshoumaru?..." She asked, raising a hand to his cheek. She gently wiped away his tears and he seemed as though he had snapped from a trance.

"Kagome?" he asked, almost not sure if it was really happening. "Kagome!" He said more confidently, holding her to his chest. "I am sorry I could not protect you Kagome." He said, still teary eyed.

"But you did Sesshoumaru. If you hadn't have been there I would not have had the strength to defeat him. Thank you." She said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. They stayed like this until they got to Kagome's chambers. Sesshoumaru placed her gently on the bed and lay next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. 'I will keep you safe my miko. No one will ever get you away from me.' He thought as he allowed the dream world to take him.

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Eri: SHAZAM! HAHAHAHA! So been waiting to do that! Well, I hope this MONTROUSLY IMPORTANT CHAPTER was worth the wait. I couldn't wait to kill kikyo.

Sesshoumaru: Indeed

Eri: Oh and Naraku. Lol. And I know, Sesshoumaru crying is very OOC but I just had to do it. It worked for the moment.

Sesshoumaru: I do not cry.

Eri: Maybe not fluffy, but you do in my story.

Sesshoumaru: Growls

Eri: Well, thats all for now. Again, sorry for the wait. Please review. It would mean ever so much to me. haha, I'm so corny. :P


	21. Bathing

Disclaimer: blah blah blah, not this crap again...

Eri: Just a warning, my limeyness begins in this chapter. Yea thats right. I'll sum it all up in the end notes for any of you who will be offended by the maturity. Mind you, if you are going to be offended by that stuff you should really avoid M rated stories. Just a thought you know...

**Chapter 21: Bathing...**

Kagome woke up feeling disoriented. For a moment she could not tell where she was. It was only when she had come to enough to feel the arms around her waist that she knew where she was. She remembered what had happened the previous day and was overcome with a mixture of grief and joy. She was full of sorrow to have watched so many men willing give their lives to protect her, but she was happy that Naraku had finally been defeated. Before long her thoughts turned to Inuyasha. He had watched her kill his one true love. He had to be hurting right now.

Kagome had come to completely and was now struggling to free herself from Sesshoumaru's grasp to get to Inuyasha. Her actions were greeted with a deep growl from behind her and the tightening of Sesshoumaru's arms. She turned her head to face him. His features seemed so peaceful, so serene. She raised one hand slowly to his cheek and gently ran her fingers down his magenta stripes, earning a soft growl from her inuyoukai.

"Good morning." She said softly, still stroking his stripes.

His response was nuzzling his nose into her hair. Kagome giggled and fought him off playfully, not truly wanting to leave his grasp. Sesshoumaru played along with her actions, holding her closer to him. Kagome sighed dramatically, giving in to his strong arms. She allowed a large yawn to take hold of her. She glanced down at her clothes and noticed that she was covered in sweat and dirt. She turned her nose up at it. 'I must smell really bad. How is Sesshoumaru putting up with it?' She thought to herself.

"Sesshoumaru, please, I really need to bathe." She began squirming again under his grasp. He growled but released her.

"I will meet you in the hot springs." He replied, raising off the bed.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "You know, I can bathe myself..."

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Indeed you can, but in the inuyoukai courting ritual our next step is grooming. However, it is more...physical than a normal bath. We are required to wash one another and..." Sesshoumaru hesitated, almost nervous as to what her response would be to his next words. "explore one anothers bodies. It is a way to understand what pleasures our mates."

Kagome was shocked to say the least. She had begun to blush more than she had ever done in her life. 'He...he wants to...with me...Oh man, Kagome, snap out of it. You are looking like an idiot right now. Say something. Say ANYTHING!'

"Uhhh..." 'Oh, real smart sounding Kagome!'

Sesshoumaru couldn't help but smirk at her response. 'At least she isn't yelling at me..' He nearly laughed at the thought but instead went to stand beside her. He snaked an arm around her waist and drew her towards himself, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Kagome felt her knees give out as his tongue skillfully explored her mouth. She couldn't control her body as it was responding to his touch. 'Is this the kind of pleasure he was talking about?' She thought as her body continued to fail her and she gave in to her demons will. 'If I can get him off me...' Her mind trailed to what it would feel like to bathe with him if he could make her lose control by a mere kiss. She felt his lips leave hers and felt his forehead rest upon hers. Catching her breath she stared up into his golden eyes.

"I will be in the hot springs awaiting your arrival." He whispered into her ear, releasing her from his grip and slowly walking away from her.

Kagome watched as Sesshoumaru walked away from her. She watched as he closed the door behind himself. She seemed to be glued to the floor. She was absolutely stunned by what had just happened and was having trouble comprehending what was about to happen. Her face was still blushing an incredible amount. The previous days events had completely left her mind. Her energy seemed to be completely restored at the thought of what was happening to her. She shook her head in an attempt to allow herself access to her body again. It worked. She moved quickly to get her bathing belongings. She grabbed her shampoo and realized it was nearly out. She remember the reason for that and laughed to herself. She could still remember Sesshoumaru's hair smelling like her shampoo. She made a mental note that she would have to go home and get some more.

Sesshoumaru walked out of the room and headed straight down to the hot springs. His head was swirling with emotions. The first was grateful that she had not yelled at him at the thought of him bathing with her. The second emotion was nervousness. Though he would never admit it, he was nervous that she might not accept his actions or that she would not approve of his appearances. Though he did not tell anyone, under his clothing he had stripes. Two very large stripes on his waist. The third emotion was excitement. He would finally be able to explore his intendeds body. So long he had longed to do this but he had been denied. His honor would not allow him to do such a thing. Now he would be allowed by both Kagome and his honor.

Somehow, amidst all the emotions Sesshoumaru was feeling, he kept a stoic mask on the entire time. It was as though he were wearing a Noh mask. None of his features changed. Ever. He passed many servants who all bowed to him and he merely ignored their actions and continued on his way. Truth be told he had barely noticed them. He was focused on where he was going. It was only when Kiana flew around the corner and ran into him that he was pulled from his thoughts. He growled in irritation at the disturbance and glared at Kiana.

"So sorry milord!" Kiana said, bowing low and hoping her lord would be feeling merciful today.

"What cause is there to be in such a rush as to not even notice the lord of the castle?" He asked her, still glaring at her.

"Rin and Shippo got away from my watch and are running loose in the castle. I was not aware of you being out of your chambers yet and I was attempting to catch them so that they would not try to wake you and Lady Kagome." She answered, still bowing. Sesshoumaru smirked, his irritation now completely passed.

"You were doing your duty. Find the children. Tell them that Kagome is well and they can see her soon enough." He said before taking his leave of her.

"Hai Sesshoumaru-sama!" she called after him and continued on searching out the children.

Sesshoumaru had known that the children would eventually slip out of their caretakers grasp. They always did. Somehow, no matter who he told to watch them, Rin and Shippou always managed to escape.

It wasn't long before Sesshoumaru reached the hot springs. He stooped next to one of the bathing pools and checked the temperature of the water. It was far too cold for his liking. Just this once he would allow the actually cleansing to take place in the hot water in the next room. He removed his haori and hakama, leaving on only his juban. He set them down on the bench and stood, awaiting Kagome's arrival.

Kagome's POV

Kagome bolted out of Sesshoumaru's room and headed towards the hot springs. It was a long walk to get there so she kept a speedy pace. She did not want to keep Sesshoumaru waiting very long, but she was still very nervous. She had always been very self conscious of her body. She did not believe herself to be very attractive and was afraid that he would reject her.

She got about halfway to the hot springs when it happened.

"OKAA-SAN!" a small voice from behind her yelled. She turned just in time to be mawled over by a small kitsune and a very hyper human.

Kagome only barely kept herself upright as the children impacted with her body.

"We were so worried about you! Sesshoumaru-sama wouldn't let anyone see you yesterday. Rin was afraid that Kagome was dead." Rin cried, hugging her waist tightly while Shippou did the same to her neck. Kagome sighed and lowered herself to Rin's level and pulled Shippou from her shoulder to her arms and gave both of the children a big bear hug.

"Don't worry you two. I'm fine." She looked up to see a very out of breath Kiana running towards them. "Although it looks like you have done a number on Kiana." She said with a laugh.

"Milady! I'm sorry, I tried to catch them."

Kagoe sighed. "Kiana, I've told you, just call me Kagome." She smiled at Kiana and released the children. "Now, you two go back with Kiana and be good. I will come and play with you later. Right now Sesshoumaru is waiting for me." She said, handing Shippou over to Kiana and Rin bounced over to her on her own.

"Ok Okaa-san." They both replied.

Kagome smiled as she watched them walk away. They were so innocent and yet not. She chuckled softly and continued towards the hot springs. Sesshoumaru would be getting irritated by now.

It wasn't long before Kagome too reached the hot springs. What she saw when she opened the door took her breath away. Sesshoumaru was standing in nothing but his juban. (Eri: For anyone who doesn't know, that's his pants) She slowly stepped towards him as her eyes searched his body. His shirtless chest, complete with washboard abs. Kagome shifted her eyes towards the water rather than looking at him. She was blushing deeper by the minute. Instead of continuing to watch Sesshoumaru she turned her back towards him and removed her clothing, still feeling his eyes burning holes in her back. She was about to slip into the water when his deep cool voice broke the silence.

"Come, we will bathe in the springs."

She turned to look at him and saw him walking into the next room. Kagome had only a moment to think before she reacted. If she was to be his mate then it would indeed be helpful to know what pleasured her mate. She smirked. 'This is going to be fun.' She slowly followed after him. Using her arms she attempted to cover her breasts from sight but to no avail. She found Sesshoumaru sitting in the largest hot spring near the back of the room. His hair floating about in the water next to him. Kagome gasped and blushed once she realized that he had disguarded his juban and was now completely nude.

Beginning of the Lime

Sesshoumaru eyed up the now nude Kagome. Her body was perfectly proportioned. No excess fat anywhere. He raised a hand out of the water and beconned Kagome to come to him. She complied with his wished and walked slowly towards him, slowly submersing her body in the water. She sat down next to him and placed her shampoo and soap on the rock next to her. Sesshoumaru stared at them. He remembered using the one before. He remember how is was done and grinned. He poured some into his hand.

"Dip you head under the water." he ordered her. She complied.

Once her head was once again above the water, Sesshoumaru massaged the shampoo into her hair, being mindful of his claws. Kagome groaned in pleasure as his fingers massaged her scalp. The light scrapes of his claws left her scalp tingling and she whimpered when he stopped, only to have his fingers replaced by warm water being poured gently on his head.

Sesshoumaru had been massaging her scalp, taking in the wonderful scent that the shampoo left behind. He lowered his hands to the water and cupped them, bringing up water with them. He gently poured water on her head over and over again until he removed the most part of the water. He then gently manoeuvered her body until she was very nearly lying across his lap, dipping her hair under the water to get the rest of the shampoo out. He watched her expressions as he did this and saw the pure delight on her face.

He gently lifted her back into a sitting position and turned her body so that she could rest against the rocks behind her. He grabbed her soap and rubbed it into his hands, placing it back on the rocks behind her. Ever so gently he placed his soapy hands on her necks, rubbing away the dirt. He lowered his lips and kissed her now clean neck. Kagome moaned in pleasure as his hands moved lower down her body. His hands massaged her shoulders gently, leaving small soap bubbles behind. Sesshoumaru continued to trail kisses behind his hands. His hands slowly made their way down to her breasts. Kagome's back arched in contentment and his claws ran over her nipples.

Sesshoumaru watched Kagome's reactions to his actions. He listened as she moaned when he kissed her skin. He felt her move closer to him when he touched her breasts. Desiring to delve deeper to investigate this sensitive area he brought his lips to her breasts, gently sucking on one hardened nub while teasing the other with his claw.

Kagome was beside herself with pleasure. She burried her hands in Sesshoumaru's hair and he busied himself on her breasts. She detangled her fingers and allowed her hands to wander down Sesshoumaru's body as far as she could reach. Her hands paused on his chest, gently feeling every muscular crease. Sesshoumaru grabbed her hands and held them down at her sides. He kissed his way down her stomach, nuzzling his nose in when he reached her belly button. He was overwhelmed by her scent and it took everything he had in him not to take her now. He felt her hands struggling under his, squirming as he had his way with her. She wanted more than anything the touch him but he wasn't about to allow that just yet.

Sesshoumaru smiled into her stomach as she squirmed, sending a very obvious shiver down her spine. 'So, she likes that. I'll have to keep that in mind...' He thought as he continued on his treck south. His lips found their way to her very heated core. He slid his tongue out of his mouth and very gently lapped at her sensitive spot.

Kagome shivered in pure delight. Never had she felt what he was causing her to feel. Her body was on fire but she never wanted anyone to put it out. She felt as jolts of electricity starting down where Sesshoumaru was so diligently paying attention to her. It continued this way until Kagome felt she could no longer take it. Her body gave out and she was racked with her first orgasm.

Sesshoumaru was taking pleasure in pushing Kagome to her limits as he felt her reach her climax. He lapped up her sweet juices greedily as he returned to washing her. He finished washing her legs and gently washed her core, knowing that it would still be sensitive from the torture he had just put it through.

Kagome watched in amazement as the after affects of her orgasm wore off and Sesshoumaru gently finished washing her. She couldn't believe what he had just done. She had never thought that such pleasure what be possible. She watched as Sesshoumaru began to leave the water and thought fast.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I am leaving you to recouperate." He said softly.

"I don't think so. Get back here." She said, adding force behind her words. "It's my turn."

Sesshoumaru was intrigued by her words. It was unheard of for a female to have her "turn" in this part of the ritual, though his curiousity got the better of him. He lowered himself back into his seat next to her. Remembering that he had seemed agitated when he had used her shampoo she decided against using it. Instead, she gently dipped his head under the water and massaged his scalp the way he had done for her. He growled in contentment and Kagome smiled, continuing her course of action. Once she was satisfied that she worked all the knots out, she moved to dip his head under the water. He protested but complied.

Kagome blushed and grabbed her soap. It was time for the fun part. She lathered her hands the way he had done. She started at the neck the way he had done. She copied his actions from previous, seeing if it pleased him the way it had done her. Much to her enjoyment, it did. She continued down his chest, his abs, and skipped right to his legs. She wanted to save the best for last. Sesshoumaru was clearly enjoying every minute of her attention as his head rested on the rocks behind him, eyes closed. He felt himself becoming more aroused by the second and strained to keep himself under control.

What Kagome did next shocked him to no end. She had found his hardened member and was gently massaging it with her hands. The shock quickly wore out as he felt the sensations of her hands on his very aroused unit. He would have never asked her to do this for him but it seemed his mate was always full of surprises.

Kagome had never done something like this before so she was going mainly by feel. She kept changing the positions of her fingers until she heard her inuyoukai growl loudly in absolute pleasure. When Kagome brought her head down and gently kissed the tip of his penis that was too much for him. Sesshoumaru gave in to the feelings flowing through his body and allowed himself to be overcome by his orgasm.

Kagome backed off, pleased with herself. It appeared that she had paid Sesshoumaru back for the pleasure he had given her. All thoughts of being shy around him were now completely gone. She stared at her soon to be mate as he stared back at her in absolute shock.

"How did you know how to do that?" He asked her.

"Um, I didn't really...I was just kinda...doing it..." She answered honestly. She really didn't know how.

End of Lime

Sesshoumaru reached out and pulled her into his arms. No other female from this time period would dare do that for a man. Not even for the great demon lord Sesshoumaru. Kagome was definately a unique female. She was HIS female. He muttered his thanks to her and she curled deeper into his embrace.

They stayed this way for quite some time. It was only once Kagome realized that her fingers were pruning from being in the water too long. She giggled and showed them to Sesshoumaru. He smiled softly at her and allowed her to crawl out of his embrace. She got to the waters edge and realized that she had left her clothing in the next room. She went wide eyed, hoping that no one had gone into that room. She raced to the door as quickly as one in her state of undress would dare to. She peaked out of the door and was glad to see that the room was empty. She raced towards her clothes and dressed as quickly as possible. She turned to see Sesshoumaru mid-dress behind her. She chuckled. She glanced back at her now empty bottle of shampoo. She absolutely refused to go very long with out it, so she would ask Sesshoumaru this evening if she could return to her time. Who knows, perhaps he would want to come with her...

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Eri: Ok, thats my first ever chapter with that kinda stuff in it so go easy on me. That and I wrote it all in one sitting. It's now like 12:43 in the morning and i've gotta get up real early. Please review. Let me know what you think.

Review of Chapter:

Ok, so, Kagome wakes up with Sesshoumaru. He goes to the hot springs, Kagome runs into shippou and rin who were worried about her. She makes them feel better and heads down to the hot springs. She and Sesshy complete the next step of the courting ritual and Kagome gets herself ready to ask Sesshoumaru to let her go home and get more shampoo and other things, thinking that he might want to go with her... yea.


	22. Wait, WHAT!

Eri: Ok, I'm really sorry i haven't updated in quite some time. My computer got fried right as I was almost done with the chapter so I've had to start over again. :( well, on to the story!

**Chapter 22: Wait, WHAT!**

Kagome had made her way back to her room with her things in hand. She knew that it would not be easy to convince Sesshoumaru to allow her to go home, let alone convince him to come with her. She hadn't seen her family in a very long time and she missed them. She even missed being irritated by Sota. She had come up here alone to think. She knew that Sesshoumaru would argue with more than valid points, but she was determined to win this one. She looked at every possible angle that the arguement could take and thought carefully about a response. By the end of this, her head was beginning to hurt. Usually, when it came to a conversation, she went into it with fists flying.

It was well into the afternoon when Kagome left her room. She had dressed herself in a sky blue kimono with a pattern of silks in green and brown made to look like the sky against a forest of trees. She very much looked the part of the lady of the castle. She made her way down the stairs to the main hallways where all the important meetings were kept, passing that mysterious door. She was very nearly passed it when she heard voices coming from inside. Curiousity took over as she leaned over and pressed her ear against the door.

"Is she ready for this?"

"Kagome is ready. However, this Sesshoumaru has yet to fully explain the courting and mating rituals to her. "

"In that case, before anything else happens, I suggest you speak with her."

Kagome was overcome with a mixture of confusion and an even stronger curiousity. She had spoken with Sesshoumaru about the mating ritual, but now she was much more curious about it. He had said that he had yet to fully explain it. She pressed her ear against the door to listen again.

"Sesshoumaru, she has yet to learn of the spell I placed on her as a child. She does not know what she will become when she mates you."

"No, she does not."

'Ok! Now I'm confused! How could he have placed a spell on me as a child when I only fell through the well when I was 15? Oh, Sesshoumaru. You have ALOT of explaining to do."

She knocked on the door and heard some shuffling on the other side. The door opened a crack and Lord Bushimeiyo's head stuck out. Kagome had to stifle her laughter at the demon lord. She had not expected him to take such actions.

"Ahh, Lady Kagome. What can I do for you?" He asked her.

"Umm...I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything but I need to speak with Sesshoumaru for a moment." She answered sheepishly.

He nodded, closed the door behind him without letting her any glimpses of the room. A moment later, Sesshoumaru came out in the same such fashion. He put a hand on the small of her back and led her through the halls to his study. He sat in his chair and allowed Kagome to do as she pleased. Kagome decided she wanted to lean against the wall in front of him. She rubbed her elbow nervously.

"Umm, Sesshoumaru. I was just wondering, since you used up all of my shampoo and all, if it would be pssible for you to let me go home for a little while. I need to get more and I haven't seen my family in so long. You could come with me if you wanted to. I could show you all around the city and introduce you to my friends. I think they'd like you. You'd have to look out for Yuka though..." Kagome was rambling. 'So much for my well thought out conversation.' She thought, rolling her eyes mentally at herself.

"No."

"No? Please Sesshoumaru. I really need to speak with my mom."

"Not no you can't go home. No, I need to talk with you about something else before we talk about that."

"Oh..."'well, this is one way to find out what those two were talking about.' "Ok, go ahead." She said.

Sesshoumaru paused, seemingly thinking of the words to say. Kagome sat patiently waiting, but her patience grew thin quickly.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about the other thing first? It might give you some time to.."

"What do you know of your father?" Sesshoumaru interrupted.

Kagome was taken aback. The question seemed so random.

"My father?" She asked, being sure she had heard the question.

"Yes."

"Well...not much. He died just after Sota was born. I was only 3 at the time and we don't really have any pictures. I don't even know what he looks like. Why?" She asked.

"He is not dead."

"What?"

"He is not dead, and you are not what you think you are."

"Ok, now I'm really confused. What the hell are you talking about?" She said. She wasn't truly confused. She had heard most of this early when she was listening through the door.

"Listen closely. This is going to be a rather long explanation." He said, warning her before hand. "Kagome, your father is alive in this time. Your mother and father were both from this time. Your father is a full demon and your mother is a hanyou miko. When you were very young your parents discovered the well that you use to pass between times periods. Your parents decided that seeing as there were very few demons in your time, it would be safe to raise you there. However, the problem with that was that you were so obviously different from the humans there. Your mother placed concealment spells over you, your brother and herself. The spell will be released when we mate." He finished, watching a wide eyed Kagome trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"Wait, WHAT!" Kagome answered.

"You heard what I said. I will not repeat myself."

After a few moments, Kagome spoke again. "Ok, let me get this straight. I'm a demon, my dad's alive, my mom is a hanyou miko, and I'm from this time?"

"Indeed."

"So...Who is my father, if he is as alive as you say?"

"He is standing at the doorway now."

Kagome turned to see Lord Bushimeiyo standing in the doorway. Her jaw fell so far it nearly hit the floor. Kagome was in a state of absolute astonishment. 'Well, that would explain how he knew as well...' She wasn't sure what to say. 'How do I respond to this?'

"Umm..."

"Hello my child."

"Hi." Kagome said, blushing. She had no idea how to handle this. She wanted more than ever to speak with her mother now. That was the only way that she would believe all of this.

"No offense to either of you, but I need to hear this from my mother." She said. Neither of them seemed shocked by her words. In all honesty, they had both already spoken about this conversation and knew that she woul most likely want to hear this from someone she had known all her life. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, but it was a little hard to believe.

"Now you see why I wanted to speak about this first, before you spoke about going home." Sesshoumaru said, a smirk evident on his face. Kagome had to resist the urge to smack him.

"How soon can I see her?" She asked.

Sesshoumaru looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set already. "Tomorrow. We will leave early in the morning."

"Would you two mind terribly if I joined you? I have not seen my mate in a very long time."

Kagome smiled at him. "I would be glad to have you with us, milord."

"Please, I'm your father, don't be so formal with me. You can call me anything but that." He said with a chuckle.

"Ok, how does Otou-san sound?" She asked, unsure of herself.

"Sounds great." He answered with a smile. He smile was rewarded with a full set of teeth from Kagome. She was smiling bigger than he had ever seen. He reached out and wrapped his arms around his daughter. "I was not sure I would ever see my little girl again. I am glad you have chosen to mate with Sesshoumaru." Kagome smiled into his shoulder.

"And I'm glad you're not dead." She said, causing him to laugh.

The rest of the night went by without anything eventful. The children played as usual and the rest of them talked for a while. Sesshoumaru and Kagome headed off to their chambers but not without one last hug between father and daughter.

--------------

Eri: I know I know, It's short. I just hope it was worth it. I have tomorrow night off work so hopefully I can get the next chapter up tomorrow. This one I had to completely start over cuz my computers motherboard decided it wanted to fry itself. Well, thanks for reading! Please review and lemme know what you think.

Inuyasha: Ah Shuddap and let the go already!

Kagome: Inuyasha! Be nice!

Inuyasha: Well she just made 'em all read a whole chapter and now she won't stop talking!

Eri: Inuyasha, don't be a jerk. I had to apologize. Kagome. If you would kindly do the honors.

Kagome: Gladly. Inuyasha...SIT!

Thump

Sesshoumaru: mutters under his breath Children


	23. The Future

Eri: writing writing writing writing

**Chapter 23: The Future**

Kagome woke up the next morning truly excited. She was going home today, and Sesshoumaru would get to see her time. She would have alot of things to explain to him, but she was looking forward to it. He was the kind of guy who genuinely desired to learn so he would listen to what she was saying, unlike Inuyasha who had just ignored her. She rolled over to find that Sesshoumaru was no longer in bed. She sat up quickly and looked around. She couldn't sense any danger so she assumed he was preparing to leave. Her assumptions were correct. She found him not far from his study. He was talking to a servant who seemed to be of great importance. Kagome recognized him as one of the head servants of the castle. The servant who supervised the rest to make sure their tasks were done. The moment he saw her, he bowed down to her. Kagome returned the bow.

"There you are." She said to Sesshoumaru. "I woke up and you weren't there. It scared me for a second."

Sesshoumaru smirked. 'So, she worries when she does not wake beside me.' He had to admit that he was pleased to discover this. It meant that she was starting to react like a mate. 'It won't be long before I can take her. But first she must meet the approval of the other lords. They will not be hard to convince.'

"I was preparing the castle for our departure. There is nothing to worry about." He turned to his servant, "See to it that all the things we have discussed take place after my departure."

The servant bowed and left. Sesshoumaru turned back to Kagome and smiled slightly.

"You were worried about me."

Kagome smiled. "Of course I was worried about you. If you died, who else would I have to irritate?" She asked innocently, but smiling devilishly shortly after.

Sesshoumaru glared at her and grinned playfully, chasing her back to their room. Kagome ran from him squealing and giggling the whole way back. She tried to close the door behind her so that Sesshoumaru could not come in but he easily over powered her. She ran again and he tackled her to the bed, lying on top of her so she could not escape, holding her arms about her head.

"Your irritations are welcome only to me." He growled down to her. She giggled and squirmed but her movements ended as quickly as they began when the two locked eyes.

Kagome looked into his eyes and saw the desire he had for her. There was such passion in his eyes that she had never seen in anyone before. Though he was not saying it, he loved her. She could see it in his eyes. Her fidgeting stopped instantly and she gave in to him. She watched as he slowly came lower, closer. His smell became stronger and she lost herself in his scent. His soft lips claimed hers in a passionate but gentle kiss. It was only when Sesshoumaru moved back that she came back to reality. She looked up at him, all emotion evident.

Sesshoumaru looked into her eyes as he pulled away. In a moment he saw her eyes flicker between desire, love, passion and confusion. He had to laugh at the latter.

"Come. We do not have all day. We must leave this morning, much as I would like to stay here with you." He said.

Kagome blushed at his last comment. She had never expected that she would have such a moment with Sesshoumaru but now she realized that this was more than just his inner demon chosing her. He himself had grown to love her. For once in her life she was in love with someone who was in love with her as well. She rose with him and dressed herself for the day. Once they were ready they headed downstairs for breakfast. They were to depart shortly after and she wished to say goodbye to Rin and Shippou. She wouldn't be gone long she hope, just long enough to relax and have things explained to her. Breakfast went quickly and Kagome walked out the door to the dining hall as gracefully as she could with two children hanging off of her.

"Ok you two, Lord Sesshoumaru, Lord Bushimeiyo and I are all going back to my time for a little while. We won't be too long there. I promise I'll bring you each back something either sweet or fun to play with ok?" She said, trying to butter them up that they didn't get too upset that she was leaving for a while.

"When will you be back Okaa-san?" Shippou asked.

"As soon as I can. I just need to talk to my mom and get a few things. Maybe a couple days tops unless something changes my plans." She said, hugging them both. "You two behave for Kiana ok? No running inside and no tackling unless you're tackling in each in the GARDEN. Ok?" She said, emphasizing the garden part.

"Ok." They both smiled but looked wearily at Kagome like they didn't want her to leave, then ran outside.

sigh"So much for not running..." Kagome said under her breath.

"Indeed."

Kagome smiled up at Sesshoumaru and stood with him.

"Now I guess it's just time to wait for Lord Bushi...I mean Otou-san."

Sesshoumaru smiled at the little slip, only just. Lord Bushimeiyo arrived shortly afterwards. The three of them took to the skies towards the well, Kagome in Sesshoumaru's arms. She couldn't help but poke at the left arm. She was far too curious as to how he got it back. Sesshoumaru noticed her poking and moved her so that she was solely in his right arm. She sort of glared up at him and them looked aside to her father. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"O..Otou-san?" She asked shyly, still unsure of whether or not to call him that.

"Hn?"

"Is everything alright? You seem kinda distant."

"I'm fine." He said with a smile. What he didn't tell her was that he was very nervous to see his mate again. He had not seen her since Kagome was three. Kagome was alot like her mother. A fiery spirit, though she usually hid it to be polite. She was acting the part of a lady, just like Kagome.

Kagome saw his eyes glaze back over with thought and smiled. 'He must be thinking about seeing mom again.' She smiled and turned her eyes back ahead. She got excited to see the well just up ahead.

"THERE IT IS!" She yelled.

Both Inu's cringed.

"Oops! I'm sorry!" she said.

"Soon you'll know exactly how it feels." Sesshoumaru growled. Kagome just shrugged in response.

They landed next to the well and Kagome looked into it nervously.

"What's the matter?" Bushimeiyo asked.

"Well...Inuyasha and I are the only ones I've ever seen who have been able to pass through..." She answered.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. It accepts only Inu youkai and Inu hanyou's."

"But what about that ugly centipede thing that pulled me in?"

"She fell into the well when the spell was being cast. You let her out."

"Oh..."

Sesshoumaru had heard enough of the conversation and decided to go. He stepped in front of Kagome to go down the well. She grabbed his arm and jumped in with him, leaving Bushimeiyo to stare after them. 'Kami, I'm finally going to see my koichi again...' He smiled and jumped in with excitement.

Sota was walking by the well house when he heard voices coming from inside.

"Ow! Get off of me!"

"I'm not on you!"

"You're BOTH on my tail!"

"Oh, sorry Sesshoumaru!"

The door to the well house burst open, scaring Sota. In front of him stood two tall demons. He was about to scream when Kagome came walking around them. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who are these guys Kagome?" he asked.

"Well, this is Lord Sesshoumaru and this is Lord Bushimeiyo. Guys, meet Sota." She said, introducing them all.

"Ahh, Sesshoumaru it's nice to...Bushi!" Kagome's mother had come out of the house hearing her daughters voice. She had expected to sooner or later see Sesshoumaru, but Bushimeiyo? Now that was another story entirely. "What are you doing here!" She yelled running to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"She knows koichi. I'm assuming this Sota, he is the one you were bearing when you came here?"

Kagome's mother nodded. Lord Bushimeiyo sank to one knee and looked Sota over. "You know, he does look alot like me. Were I to be a human that is."

"Mom, Who is this guy?" Sota asked, eyeing up the demon who was staring at him.

"Sota...this is your father..."

Sota's jaw dropped. "But father is dead! He can't be him! You told me he died when you were pregnant with me!" Sota screamed at her.

"Sota..."

"NO!" He ran back inside the house. Kagome's mom sighed.

"Excuse a moment, Kagome, I want to talk to you about this. Just let me go talk to Sota first."

The three watched as she retreated into the castle. Sesshoumaru could not help but ask.

"Kagome. I know she is your mother, but I would like to know her name."

"Oh, Her name is Oyume"

Sesshoumaru nodded. He was still in awe of how odd this time smelt. It did not seem much different, but he could hear strange sounds in the near distance. He could not place it, but this place was something more than he'd imagine. He followed Kagome into the house. It wouldn't be long before the discussion would begin.

----------

Eri: well, there's another for ya. Gotta work tomorrow but then I've got another two days off to work. YEAY:D:D Well, leave you're reviews. lemme know:D:D:D Any ideas on where to go, i'm open for suggestions.


	24. Wow

Eri: Well well well. Look whose reading my story. lol. Thanks a bunch to all of you:) can't tell you how much I appreciate it:)

**Chapter 24: Wow...**

Kagome, Sesshoumaru and Bushimeiyo were all sitting around the dining room table. Kagome was anxious to speak with her mother. She needed to get some answers. Bushimeiyo was excited to see his mate again. He had missed her so much. Sesshoumaru however was too absorbed in his surroundings to care.

It was a good 20 minutes before Oyume came down stairs. There had been much yelling upstairs. Kagome knew that her brother was upset. Who wouldn't be. Any normal young boy would be angry to find out that his father was alive when all his life he'd been told he was dead.

"Sorry about that. Does anyone want anything to eat?" She asked, hoping that no one was too upset with her delays.

"No thank you mom." Kagome said. Everyone else had the same answer. "Mom. I really need to talk to you about this."

Oyume smiled and nodded. She waved the boys outta the room. She knew Kagome would rather talk about this between the two of them, not with an audience and males sometimes did not understand that. Kagome was struggling to start the conversation. She wasn't sure how to ask her mom about this and her mother noticed.

"Ok, How about you just ask me the first question that pops into your head and I'll answer it. Does that sound good?" She asked. Kagome smiled and nodded.

"Umm...This is gonna sound really dumb, but how did you and Dad meet?" Kagome asked. Her first question was literally right at the beginning.

Her mother smiled. "Well, it's pretty simple actually. I was a servant in his castle. My parents were killed when I was very young. My mother was an Inu demon and my father was a priest. My father was under attack and my mother tried to save him but they both ended up losing their lives. Lord Bushimeiyo's father took pity on me and took me in. When his father passed away, your father became distraught and his mother could not console him. We were the same age at the time. He was crying in the garden and I daringly sat next to him. He looked up at me and for some reason stopped crying. We became the best of friends and eventually, mates."

Kagome couldn't surpress the giggle rising to her mouth. "Awww, it was puppy love! Literally!" Her mother roled her eyes but chuckled.

"Ok, next question." She said, the little story had loosened her up enough to talk freely. "How did you come across the well?"

Her mother full out laughed and looked around to make sure the coast was clear. "Are you sure you wanna hear this?" Kagome nodded. "Alright...Well, your father and I were fooling around in the forest..."

"WOAH! Ok, Next question!" Kagome yelled blushing.

"You said you wanted to hear it." Her mother said with a laugh.

"Why did you choose to live here instead of with Dad?" She said, forcibly changing the subject. Her mother sighed.

"That is a choice I question myself on everyday. We both assumed that because there were no demons here to try to kill you it would be safer. It was only after living here for a year that I realized it wasn't safe at all but it was too late to go back because I had already placed the spells over you and your brother to keep you human until you mated."

"Didn't you think about when we were to marry a human?"

"Well, mating and marriage are very different. Mating is a physical bond between two souls. When you mate Sesshoumaru, your souls will join together. You will have a connection with one another that cannot be broken until one of you passes away. Marriage is a legal contract between humans that can easily be broken and doesn't form a bond between the two. It merely makes the humans feel closer. So if what you mean is that you would change when you married a human, you would not. You would remain in your human state."

Kagome sat still, thinking through her mothers words. Some how she had managed to answer many of Kagome's unanswered questions about mating. She thought over her next question carefully. So far most of her questions had ended with something sexual. She didn't want this to go there.

"What will I change into? Will I be a different person all together or will I just physically change?" This was the question she worried about the most.

"Your body will change, but you will still be the same little Kagome that used to play jump rope in the back yard. The same Kagome who loves to pick on her little brother. The same Kagome who is now mating Lord Sesshoumaru. Your personality will be exactly the same. There will be some instincts you never had before, but that comes with being youkai. You will be much stronger and you will look alot like your father. That's about all that will change." She answered. Kagome breathed a large sigh of relief. That was exactly what she needed to hear. Now for the stupid question that she'd been thinking about lately.

"Ok, so, there are hanyou, youkai, miko, and human. I am part hanyou, miko and youkai. What the heck would you call me!"

He mother laughed. Not just a giggle, but a full out laugh that could be heard throughout the house. "Now that question, I have no idea how to answer." She said, throwing her arm around her daughters shoulders. "Now lets go find those boys of ours."

Kagome smiled at the thought. 'This might just turn out to be pretty cool...' She walked out of the kitchen with her mom. They searched the house for their "boys" and found them outside on the shrine steps. Sesshoumaru was watching with amazement as the cars drove past. Kagome nearly laughed at the look on his face. This was the first time she had seen an unreserved emotion other than when they were in private. Here, it did not matter who saw.

"What are those?" He asked.

Kagome sat next to him and curled up against him. "Those are cars. Maybe you'll get to ride in one tomorrow." She smiled at the thought of taking him into the city. It would be quite amusing to see his reactions, but she would have to be careful. She could still remember Inuyasha's first time in the city. He tried to defend her against a passing bus. She chuckled at the memory and figured she should warn Sesshoumaru.

"Before we go into the city though, I have to warn you. The only thing you have to protect me against is other people who are threatening me, and Hojo."

Oyume broke out into laughter. She knew exactly what her daughter was talking about. She nodded her agreement and sat next to Bushimeiyo. The day was nearing its end as the sun was going down. The four sat for a while chatting about nothing in particular, Sesshoumaru though did not saw much.

Kagome yawned and stretched. It had been a long day for her and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed. She was grateful that she could be in her bed tonight. It had been such a long time. She excused herself from the group and made her way up to her room. She told Sesshoumaru to stay with them for a little while because she wanted to shower and change. She made quick work of that and as she was on her way to her room from the bathroom she heard a sniff from Sota's room. She cracked the door open to find Sota crying on his bed. Her heart broke.

"Sota?" She said softly. He wiped the tears from his eyes to try to look brave.

"What do you want?"

"Don't talk like Inuyasha. Trust me, it gets annoying after a while. Are you going to be alright?" She asked.

"Yea, it's just alot to take in."

"I know, trust me. I'm gonna be an almost full demon in a little while, how do you think I feel?" She said.

"How long have you known about dad?" He asked.

"I just found out yesterday." She answered.

She sat on the bed next to him in silence for a little while. She was about to say something when he wrapped his arms around her, surprising her to no end. She said nothing, instead she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and drew him closer to her, putting her chin on his head.

"Hey Sota, maybe when you find a mate we can train together. I'll teach you to fight so no one thinks you are a sissy boy." She said with an evil grin and he punched her in the gut gently.

"That's it!" She yelled and pounced on him, tickling him until he cried uncle.

"Kagome."

She turned around and saw Sesshoumaru standing at the door. "Let's go."

"Right. Night Sota." She said, gently swatting his head. She crawled off the bed to leave and found herself in Sesshoumaru's grasp. She smiled and followed him out of the room, closing the door behind her. She led him to her room and lay down on the bed. Sesshoumaru followed suite and wrapped his arms around her, making himself comfortable for the night. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.

---------------

Eri: Ok, so Sesshoumaru and Kagome are in the future now. OO! I Just got the BEST IDEA! I know exactly where I'm going next. It just sux to be the rest of you who have no idea. hahaha. I'm just kidding you just have to keep reading to find out! Well, please review:D


	25. Sesshoumaru in modern times

Eri: Well, I'm sorry yet again for the lack of punctuality on the update. My job has me working a good 40 hours a week and I'm also in full time school so it's kind of hard to get much done around here. Please forgive me and Review. This chapter takes an...interesting...turn. he...he...

**Chapter 25: Sesshoumaru in modern times**

Sesshoumaru woke to the feeling of Kagome in his arms. He had not intended to fall asleep but he was grateful for the moment's peace. He nuzzled closer to Kagome. She was so soft, smelled so good, and looked so calm and happy. Kagome woke to his nuzzling and giggled softly, squirming. He stopped his actions and held her tighter.

"Morning Koichi." She whispered.

"Morning" he responded.

"You fell asleep didn't you." She stated.

"Hai."

Kagome smiled. She loved having her Sesshoumaru so close. She wished that they could stay this way all day. Tucked under the warm and comfortable blankets, wrapped in one another's arms. She knew it wouldn't be long before Sota came in jumping the way he always did though. She grumbled under her breath about not wanting him to come.

"I have to warn you, my brother has a habit of bouncing on my bed to wake me." She said just to inform him.

"There will be no jumping today."

No sooner than he said that did Sota come flying into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Sesshoumaru. He knew that jumping on a demons bed was a bad idea.

"Uh.. Kagome, mom says that breakfast is ready." He said, still standing in place.

"Ugh, thanks Sota. We'll be down in a minute." She answered him. "I just have to get dressed first."

Sota smiled nervously at her, eyes glancing to Sesshoumaru before he left. Kagome had to laugh at the look on her brother's face. He had been extremely nervous of the handsome demon lying next to her on the bed. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. Her actions earned her a raised eyebrow.

"He doesn't know what to think of you. That's why he didn't jump on the bed. Maybe I should bring you here more often." She said playfully as she squirmed out of his grasp. He held on a while longer until he decided that he should let go, smirking the whole time. Kagome was grateful to finally be free of his grasp. Some days getting away from him could be very difficult. Sesshoumaru sat and watched as Kagome changed and they spoke of some very random things. Mostly Kagome explained to him how the computer on her desk worked. Sesshoumaru seemed quite interested in it, but he was merely faining interest so she would continue speaking, but he was still listening and understanding the information she was telling him. It might have proved important some day.

On Kagome's part, she was grateful that Sesshoumaru was easy to explain things to. She remembered how difficult it had been to explain how the computer worked to Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru did not need her to dumb her words down very much. She just couldn't use technical terms. It wasn't that Inuyasha wasn't smart, it was just that he had the attention span of an earthworm. He stopped paying attention when she used any words large than 8 letters.

Kagome decided to show him what the speakers did. She turned them right down so as not to hurt his ears. She tended to leave them up to loud for even a humans ear. That was just how she liked her music. There was no telling what that would do to Sesshoumaru's ears. She picked a song to play by Puffy Ami-Yumi. She looked on with amusement as her koichi sniffed at the speakers, trying to figure out how such a small box could make such a sound. She could tell that taking him out in public was going to be interesting. However, first she was going to have to find him some normal clothes. She searched the house high and low and when her search had been exhausted she came up empty handed. That meant she was going to have to take him clothes shopping.

"Take your armour off. We can't go in public with you wearing that." She looked at his swords. "Yea, those should go too. The cops will bust you for sure."

Sesshoumaru glanced wearily at his attire. He did not desire to remove his armour or leave his swords behind. Kagome noticed the look on his face and smiled at him. She walked beside him, touched his arm and reached up on her toes to whisper into his ear.

"Don't worry. People from this time are pushovers. You won't need your swords."

At this Sesshoumaru smirked. He had not doubted he could defeat them should they endanger Kagome. He just preferred not to get h is hands dirty. It was also a comfort to have his swords at his side in case he needed them.

Quickly he obliged her in removing the articles she requested. "If my swords must go, so must Junseisubeta." He said, smirking at the sword on her side. It appeared she had completely forgotten about it. Her face turned red as she unstrapped it.

"Yea, I guess I got so used to it being there I forgot it was there." Kagome said. Once she had removed it she said "Now my hip feels naked without it..."

"Naked hm?" Sesshoumaru raised an elegant eyebrow yet again.

"Not literally smart ass. It's more like metaphorical nakedness."

"Indeed. Kagome, what are these 'Cops' you spoke of earlier?"

"Oh, they are the police. That are the enforcers of the laws of the land and they punish you fairly. However, I'm using the term fairly rather loosely. Some cases you can't be proven innocent even though you really are." She answered, drifting into thought.

"Indeed. Then they are like my guards and the lower lords?"

"Exactly!" Kagome was glad that he understood. She couldn't really think of another way to phrase it.

Once they were ready Kagome came barrelling down the stairs, Sesshoumaru walking gracefully behind her. Kagome was rather excited to show Sesshoumaru her time. He was much easier to explain things to that Inuyasha. She ran to the kitchen, nearly tripping over her cat Buyo.

When Sesshoumaru stepped into the kitchen he noted the scent of Kagome's mothers cooking. He had smelt it before now but he had not really paid it any attention. She had fried up some eggs and bacon.

"Good morning you two! Breakfast is already on the table for you." Oyume said with a smile.

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth to protest to eating human food but Kagome elbowed him in the ribs before he could speak.

"Thanks mom!" She said, dragging Sesshoumaru to the table to sit. "Just be nice and eat it." She whispered to Sesshoumaru. He glared at her but picked up a piece of bacon. He tossed it about in his fingers disgustedly like a child playing with a mud ball. After a short while he hesitantly threw it into his mouth with the utmost of manners. He had prepared himself for something horrible but found that he actually liked it. Much to Kagome's surprise he willingly finished his plate. He didn't use his chopsticks but she was impressed none the less.

Sesshoumaru noticed Kagome's shock and decided to further shock her on purpose. He reached over and picked up a piece of bacon off of her plate and threw it in his mouth. Kagome's jaw nearly hit the table, causing Sesshoumaru to smirk. The only distraction that she received was her father clearing his throat, and she was grateful for it.

"So what are the plans for today?" She asked trying to take her mind off the not long gone shock.

"Well, I was planning to show Lord Bushi here around after dropping Sota off at soccer practice. You guys are welcome to come along." Oyume said.

"Well actually, I was going to go get Sesshoumaru some modern clothes with the money I have saved up." Kagome said. Her mother hmmed for a moment and looked at Bushimeiyo.

"Yes, you could do with a change while you're here as well."

The two men sighed inaudibly and looked at each other with a mutual pity. Just then they heard the front door open. It was Ji-chan. Kagome and Oyume went wide eyed. They knew what would happen when he saw the demons. There would be ofudas. Many many useless ofudas. The quickly warned the demons and prepared for the worst.

Ji-chan had lived on the shrine when Oyume and Bushimeiyo first came through the well. He warmed up to them enough to adopt Oyume as his daughter and it had been so long since he had seen Bushimeiyo that he might not remember him. Kagome and Oyume moved to stand in front of them but they could not make it on time to stop the flying ofudas. There was a lot of yelling and it took about 50 ofudas before they could convince Ji-chan that they were good demons.

Kagome was grateful that everyone was alive afterwards. Sesshoumaru did not look impressed in the least. Kagome sighed and helped him pull them off. She had honestly forgotten about Ji-chan's lack of patience with new demons. He must have put 100 sutras on Inuyasha before he got used to him. She knew they hadn't seen the last of those damn useless pieces of sticky paper.

"Sorry, he doesn't like demons much." Kagome said to both Sesshoumaru and Bushimeiyo.

"Ji-chan." Bushimeiyo said to the old man. "I can't believe you don't remember me. Oh well. It has been what, 15 years?"

Ji-chan blinked at him trying to remember him. It was the look on Oyume's face that caused him to recognize the demon standing in front of him.

"Bushi...!" He proclaimed before receiving a smile and pouncing on said demon. "It's been such a long time! Why did you not visit a poor old man on his lonely shrine?"

"HEY!" shouted Oyume, Kagome and Sota in unison.

"You are not alone on this shrine old man!" Sota yelled.

"Well that's not what I was saying. I was merely stating that I was lonely. I said nothing of being alone…." Ji-chan said trying to dig his way out of the whole he had made for himself. The rest decided just to shrug it off. They were used to Ji-chan's antics, all but Sesshoumaru.

"Anyways," Bushimeiyo butted in, "Oyume and I decided that it was best that I did not show myself until they were aware of what they are. That is why I have not visited you old man."

Kagome decided that she'd heard enough. She excused herself from the room for the moment. She went outside instead of listening to their mindless chatter. It had been so long since she'd visited her shrine. 'Huh, that's a strange thought….I'm "visiting" my own house…' She had not realized until that moment just how much she had come to think of the castle as home. She was startled by the thought and was startled once more by the feeling of a hand being laid on her shoulder. She jumped and turned around.

"Oh, it's just you. You scared me." She said, panting from shortness of breath.

"I apologize. I merely wished to join you." Said the deep but warm voice of Sesshoumaru. She smiled at him, very grateful for the company.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About…"

"The Shrine. I had the strangest thought. I thought to myself that it had been a while since I visited the shrine. Then I thought about how strange it was to be visiting my own house. I suppose I never really thought about how much your castle has become my home." She said, thoughtfully.

"Our castle."

"Hmm?"

"Our castle. You said it was mine. It belongs to us both. You are the lady of the castle."

"Oh, right."

The silence between them was a comfortable one. Kagome had never felt so at peace around anyone in her life. She turned around and leaned into his chest. She wanted to be as close to him as possible. A pair of large strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer still to the warm chest behind her.

"We'll be leaving soon." She said, pausing before she spoke again. "I have to warn you. You probably won't the clothing of this time very comfortable."

Silence met her words.

"If you desire it, I shall wear them but in your time only." He said. Kagome smiled and hugged his arms gently.

"Thank you Sess."

"Sess?" He asked.

"Yea, I like it. It's short but not embarrassingly so. Don't you think?" She answered his question with one of her own. He nodded in response.

Before another word was said Bushimeiyo came out of the house, Oyume and Sota in tow. Kagome pulled herself out of Sesshoumaru's arms, walking towards the car. Sesshoumaru followed her like a lost puppy. Oyume climbed into the drivers seat, Bushimeiyo into the front passenger seat and the other three were crammed into the back with Kagome stuck in the middle of them. Kagome was not overly happy about her lack of ability to move.

Sesshoumaru on the other hand was in awe of what was going on around him, while managing to keep a stoic face. He had nearly growled at the car when it started up. He had never seen such tall buildings in his life. They even dwarfed the height of his castle. He watched as people passed by on bicycles, cars, on rollerblades and many other ways of transportation. He saw a police car and automatically knew what it was thanks to Kagome's explanations.

"Those are skyscrapers." Kagome's voice jolted him from his amazement to look at her.

"Those tall buildings you were eyeing. Skyscrapers."

"A suitable name."

Kagome chuckled as she resisted the urge to say 'Indeed.' She kept herself silent. It wasn't a good idea to mock him in public, especially when there is another taiyoukai there. Whether it was her father or not, it was still a bad idea.

Before long they had dropped Sota off and were on their way to the mall. Kagome couldn't wait to get Sesshoumaru modelling for her. Sesshoumaru would protest to it, but if she told him that it would make her happy he would do it for her. She grinned evilly at the thought and looked at her favourite youkai. She smiled normally. He was watching a train pass. She couldn't help but notice how his hair moved in the wind of the open window. He was taking in the strange sights and smells of her time.

Oyume pulled the car into the mall parking lot. She was blushing intensely because Bushimeiyo had been staring at her for the last 5 minutes. He was more interested in his mate than the passing scenery. Kagome jumped out almost before the car had stopped. She was so excited to come here. She hadn't been to the mall in a very long time. The last time she had been there was over a year ago with her friends.

Sesshoumaru sighed at Kagome's new found energy. She would definitely be going crazy in these "stores" as she calls them. He was not looking forward to the strange articles she would have him in before the day was through. He could already see the sparkles in her eyes. He growled softly in dislike.

Kagome grabbed Sesshoumaru's hand and made a run for the entrance. They were gone before Oyume and Bushimeiyo had even closed their car doors. They shook their heads at their daughters excitement but relished the moment alone.

"I remember being that excitable." Oyume said.

"Yes, she is very much like her mother." Bushimeiyo responded snaking an arm around her waist and leading her into the crowd.

Kagome's eyes sparkled with delight when she found her favourite store. She had always loved the men's clothing there but never had someone to try it on. Inuyasha was the only exception and even he only tried on red shirts and blue jeans. He had refused to try on anything else. Kagome continued to drag Sesshoumaru in the store, picking up anything she thought would look good on him. She measured some of the pants to his waist just to get an average size to look for.

Sesshoumaru knew that he was in for a long day just by the number of articles of clothing she picked up. He sighed and followed her into the change rooms. She dumped everything in his arms and pushed him in. Sesshoumaru tried to make sense of the jumbled mess of cloth in his arms. He took a stab at putting some of it on. He was fairly successful until the zipper of the jeans caught his skin in a very painful way.

Kagome sat waiting for him to come out. She heard a loud crash and a growl. Her eyes shot wide as she ran to his stall and kicked the door open. She found him sitting pantless on the floor growling at the jeans. She laughed. She couldn't help it. It was funny.

"Let me guess, the zipper." She said between dying down laughs.

Sesshoumaru nodded.

"Yea, I apologize. I probably should have warned you to clear the zipper before you do it up. It's just that girls don't have that problem and I forgot that you would." She said crouching next to him. "Are you alright?"

"Hai." He answered. "Though I suggest you refrain from laughing at this Sesshoumaru."

"Sorry." She said softly. She had not intended to laugh at his pain. She had been caught off guard by what she saw. She reached a hand out to him, though she knew he would not need her help.

Now that he was aware of the dangers of teeth near his nether regions, he carefully continued dressing as Kagome took her place outside once more, anxiously awaiting.

Sesshoumaru made his first entrance looking very uncomfortable in a pair of black jeans and a black tank top. Kagome's jaw nearly hit the floor. This outfit was definitely a keeper. Sesshoumaru looked as though he wished to tear the jeans from his body, but it was only his pride that was keeping him from exposing himself.

Sesshoumaru was definitely not comfortable. He despised the clothing he was wearing. He was ready to tear it apart when he caught the sweet scent of Kagome's arousal and smirked. If it did this to her, it would be worth wearing for a short while before tearing it off in the heat of passion.

"Ok, that one we kept." Kagome said with a smile.

Sesshoumaru nodded his agreement and snuck back into the change room.

'Ok Kagome, breathing is necessary.' She thought to herself as she tried to coax herself into breathing. Her lungs had ceased to function at the sight of him. 'Thank you Kami!' She scolded herself for thinking that way but refused to stop. She never thought that this day would come, but now here she was. 'Oh the twists that life can bring.'

A few shuffling noises later and Sesshoumaru stepped out wearing a skin tight red t-shirt and blue jeans. Kagome smiled, knowing that he had achieved the zipper properly. However, the clothes did not suit him. Kagome could clearly see that he hated it and she wasn't a big fan either. She shook her head in disapproval and watched Sesshoumaru inaudible sigh. She smirked. 'He didn't like it either.' Kagome couldn't help but wonder what he would think of the next one. She grinned evilly.

Oyume took Bushimeiyo into a men's clothing store. She didn't need to take him into the same types of stores and Kagome took Sesshoumaru. They did not need him to blend in with the younger crowd. He looked great in modern business clothing. He was getting a few funny looks from passers by who noticed his abnormal appearance. He was standing at the counter with Oyume to pay when a little girl and her mother passed by.

"Mommy, Mommy! Look at that man! He has really pretty hair!"

Bushimeiyo couldn't help but smile at that. The child was so innocent. He was a little disappointed when the girls mother shushed her and walked away quickly.

Oyume turned and smiled at him. She knew what was going through her mates head. She had thought it many times herself when she first came to this time period. She laughed at the thought of what they must have looked like the first time they came through the well.

Once they had found enough clothing they went out in search of their daughter and her future mate. It wasn't long before they found a very amused Kagome and a very irritated looking Sesshoumaru. Bushimeiyo's eyes lit up with the same amusement as Oyume took pity on the uncomfortable taiyoukai.

"Why Sesshoumaru! You look absolutely uncomfortable!" Bushimeiyo blurted out, earning himself a glare.

"Oh come on Sesshoumaru. At least you can move in this one!" Kagome mocked.

"Well let us see how well I can move!" He said loudly as he chased a screaming Kagome. It was rather obvious why he was uncomfortable. He was wearing a kilt. Kagome had picked it as a joke. She didn't think he'd actually wear it.

It wasn't long before Kagome was dodging racks of blothing to get away, laughing all the while. Sesshoumaru grinned, faked a left and tackled her from the right.

"Perhaps you are correct. It appears that one can still move in this. Perhaps we should buy it." He whispered playfully as he held her down.

"NO! It was a joke! Let me go!" She squirmed under him. He kissed her forehead and let her up. Kagome jumped up and straightened her clothing, still smiling.

Sesshoumaru ducked back into the change room and put on his normal white clothing efore returning to the others.

"We shall pay for these and leave now." He said, throwing Kagome the outfits he had deemed acceptable.

"We'll leave the store yes, but I must take you somewhere Sesshoumaru-sama. Kagome and Bushimeiyo will find some place to eat in the food court." Oyume said as Sesshoumaru raised an interested eyebrow at her.

'This woman is full of as many mysteries as her daughter.' "Fine." He answered, seeming disinterested.

Once they left the store the group parted. Oyume led Sesshoumaru through the seemingly endless mall until she found the jewellery store.

"Ok Sesshoumaru. My daughter is putting herself through the demon ritual for you. You owe it to her to go through the human ritual." She led him to the engagement rings. "Choose one, and in a moment that feels right, ask her to marry you. Then you will have a small wedding here and after that you will be free to mate as you will." She finished.

Sesshoumaru understood her. He did not wish to partake in anything human but he knew he owed it to Kagome. He turned his eyes to the many rings. He found one that intrigued him. It had a golden band and a pattern of diamonds on the front that shaped the ring into a v shape. In the centre of the v was a large diamond in the shape of a cats pupil, held to the ring by a small band of diamonds. He asked to see it and the jeweller removed it from the case.

"That ring is a very unique one. It is over 300 years old. It is a protection ring. Any girl who has been given it by her future husband has been instantly protected by a holy power from anyone who means to harm her." He said with an air of knowledge.

Sesshoumaru nodded, then thought of something. "What is Kagome's ring size?"

"We wear the same size. Try it on me." Oyume said, holding her hand out. Sesshoumaru obliged.

Perfect fit.

Eri: YAYYYY! So exciting:D:D:D:D:D another chappie:D well, lemme know what you think. I'm doing full time school and work. It's kinda hard to find time to write.


	26. The Carnival

Eri: sorry about the delay ya'll.Lot's of work again. But in two weeks school will be out and I'll have the rest of my life to write:D Only work will get in the way then. lol. And I'm sure that even work could not hold me back. MUhahahahaha! lol sorry, sudden outburst of CrAzY!

Just gonna post a reminder about the pictures that I requested. If ANYONE is interested, let me know. I would really like to have some, but I can't draw. I wish I could. But I can't. So I'm relying on you guys. :D

Well, ON TO THE STORYYYYY!

**Chapter 26: The Perfect Moment**

To be truthful, Sesshoumaru did not believe the jeweler about the ring. He seemed too much like an old man spinning tales. The ring had caught his eye. It looked very much like the ring his father had given his mother when he began their courting ritual, however if what the jeweler had said about it being 300 years old, the ring was FAR too young. It could not be the same one. His mother had worn that ring everyday. The day she was killed, his father had taken the ring from her hand to keep it sage so he would always have her with him. No one had seen it since. This is the real reason he bought it for Kagome.

Oyume was rambling on about the wedding ceremony and how it worked but he was not listening. He was busy turning the little box over in his hands, contemplating the perfect moment to ask her. He would do it today, that much he knew. He was anxious for the mating ceremony to arrive.

Kagome had taken Bushimeiyo to the Wacdnald's in the mall. She had been almost missing the food from there. It had been such a long time since she had eaten the food of this time.

"What would you like to eat...Dad..." She asked, still feeling awquard calling him that.

"Kaogme, don't feel you have to start calling me that right away. You can still call me Bushi if you prefer. Just until you are ready." Bushi said kindly to his daughter.

"Uh...yea..." Kagome answered. "It's just strange calling you Dad when all this time you've been Bushi to me.."

Bushimeiyo smiled. He completely understood what she meant. After all, she had been told her father was dead for nearly her entire life. To find that he's alive and a demon lord from the past must be hard to wrap your mind around. Instead of saying anything else, he stepped up to the counter and ordered from the cashier who could not take her eyes off of him. Kagome followed suite. The girl was still staring at him.

Kagome whispered "The markings are birthmarks, and he hates it when people stare at him." to the girl who immediately snapped back to reality. Kagome proceeded to order for Sesshoumaru, Oyume and herself.

Kagome was beginning to wonder what Oyume and Sesshoumaru were up to. They had been gone for a long time. She assumed her mother was lecturing him on how to treat her precious daughter. She rolled her eyes and got fry faced.

Sesshoumaru was walking with Oyume to the food court. She was speaking to him but he was not really paying her any attention. He was planning the perfect moment to ask Kagome to marry him. He was not sure what was involved in marrying someone, but he assumed it was the human version of mating and fully agreed to it. He barely even noticed the smell of hot oils that had filled the air.

The two rounded a corner and Oyume stepped in front of Sesshoumaru, hand on her hips.

In that brief moment when Sesshoumaru was brought back to reality, he noticed just how much Kagome and her mother are alike.

"Are you even listening to me?" She asked him. He looked back at the small ring he'd been toying with and back up at Oyume.

"Ie. I apologize." He said politely.

Oyume sighed.

"What I was saying is that this is important to Kagome. She may not speak of it, but that is because the woman isn't supposed to be the one to bring up marriage in conversation." She took his hand and sat him on a bench. "Things like this are what little human girls dream of. Don't take it lightly. I have already reserved the shrine for the wedding in one weeks time. I suggest you make the perfect moment tonight."

"Indeed. I plan on it."

"Also, when you mate, the spell on Kagome will be broken immediately but the tranformation to demon form will take two to three days. It can also be very painful so you must stay with her at all times over those days. She will need her mate to ease the pain. Do you understand?"

"Hai."

"Good, then let's go. They are waiting for us. Hide the ring."

Sesshoumaru growled in irritation at being bossed around by a human, but he complied knowing she would be his "mother in law" soon.

They reached Kagome and Bushi's table in no time at all and began eating. Sesshoumaru had to be coaxed into eating it by Kagome but he ate it no less.

Kagome eeped, jump in her seat and turned as if to hide from something. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her, but put it down when he saw three very excited girls running their way.

"Please don't kill them!" She whispered to him.

Sesshoumaru looked up to see the three girls coming their way excitedly. By the look on Kagome's face, she knew them.

"Kagome! Hey!" One said.

"You're out of the hospital! You must be feeling better." Said another, earning a raised eyebrow from Sesshoumaru and Kagome to sweatdrop.

"Kagome, who is this guy?" The final asked, nearly throwing herself at Sesshoumaru.

"This is my boyfriend. Get off him would ya!" Kagome yelled.

The girls looked at one another before one of them snapped.

"So YOU'RE the two timing bastard! Who the hell do you think you are!" She yelled poking him hard in the chest. "If you think you can get away with hurting my friend, you've got another thing coming!"

"Yeah!" The other two yelled in unison, surrounding Sesshoumaru.

Before they could do more Kagome jumped up in between the girls and Sesshoumaru. She had a feeling this would happen. She had to protect everyone. Sesshoumaru would no doubt harm the girls if they kept their current course of actions.

"NO! I dumped that jerk a long time ago! This isn't him!" She yelled, spreading her arms out in front of the irritated taiyoukai.

The girls stopped their actions, startled by what she had said. Kagome wasn't about to tell them that this was the jerks older brother. That would be a fight for another day.

"So...this isn't the two timer?"

"No. This is Sesshoumaru. That was Inuyasha." Kagome responded, silently breathing a sigh of relief that they weren't going to fight her further.

"Oh..." One girl said before turning to Sesshoumaru. "Sorry about that."

Silence.

"Well, um...we should get going. Bye Kagome, Sesshoumaru." The girl answered nervously before grabbing her friends hands and running.

Kagome slumped into her chair and dropped her head to the table with a thump. She groaned but not from the pain. Her friends acted before thinking far too often.

Sesshoumaru sat next to her. He was fuming with anger. Were it possible, he would have burst into flames right there. 'How dare they confuse me with that insolent fool! Who do they think they are dealing with!'

'Apparently Inuyasha, baka.'

'Not you again.'

'Yes me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm always here.'

'Tell me what you desire to and leave.'

'Just to tell you that our mate wasn't happy either.'

Kagome looked up to see an angry and irritated Sesshoumaru next to her. She gently placed her hand over his in an attempt to calm him. It seemed to have worked because he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.

"Sorry about my friends. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi mean well. Don't let them confusing you with Inuyasha get to you. They've never even seen him before." She said in and effort to ease the anger.

"They have never met my half breed brother and yet they confused me with him?" He asked, now irritated rather than angry.

Kaogme smiled nervously and noded, "I was hoping we wouldn't run into them until after I explained the whole thing with them at school. I knew they would react this way. That's why I asked you not to kill them."

Sesshoumaru seemed to have accepted her comments and let the girls actions slide. It wouldn't be worth the effort of staying angry.

Once they had finished eating they all piled into the car once more. The ride was silent. At least until Kagome broke the silence with a high pitched squeal, forgetting the sensitive ears in the car.

"MOM! Why didn't you tell me the carnival was in town!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry dear, I completely forgot." Her mother answered, slightly smirking to herself.

"We have to go! Tonight, when it's all lit up!" Kagome said, in a very child like manner. She looked to Sesshoumaru but as soon as she saw him she knew what she'd done.

He was holding his ears. The girl next to him, much as he loved her, needed to stop yelling. He watched as she eventually clued in. She went wide eyed and allowed her head to drop, muttering an apology. Sesshoumaru dropped his hands from his still ringing ears, muttering something about loud mouthed humans. Both Oyume and Bushimeiyo tensed for Kagome's reaction.

Instead of the expected reaction of anger, Kagome merely laughed and said "I'm not going to be human for much longer." Everyone in the car was stunned. Somehow, Sesshoumaru's derogatory comment had just flown under the radar. He was one lucky demon. She could have really given him an earful for that one.

Kagome noticed in Sesshoumaru's eyes a sort of nervous discomfort. The kind where they have to do something later on that they would rather attempt to gag themselves with a pitchfork than actually go through with. No one else seemed to notice though, so she did not press the matter.

The day flew by quickly from this point. The sun found the horizon and Kagome grew excited. They would be leaving soon for the carnival. Kagome kept talking about the Ferris wheel. It was so tall and you could almost see all of Tokyo from up there. Or at least, that's how she was describing it.

Sesshoumaru had decided he would pop the question when the two had a quiet moment at this "carnival" as Kagome called it. He was growing nervous, though he would never admit it. He himself did not quite understand the bubbly feeling in his stomach. He allowed his "bored" eyes to drift over to Kagome who was currently sitting on the couch next to him, talking away about all of the rides, whatever rides were. He assumed they were those moving metal structures he had seen. He decided to try out figure out what exactly she was talking about. He turned to her to listen more intently.

Kagome was lost in her own little world. She was excited to go to the carnival. She hadn't been since before she fell through the dry well. She was always amazed at how they managed to set up the giant ferris wheel every time. She couldn't wait to take Sesshoumaru on the giant tea cups. Before long Kagome found herself giggling uncontrollably. The mental picture of Sesshoumaru's dizzy face was more than she could take and she bowled over laughing. She knew she was getting strange looks but she couldn't help it.

Sesshoumaru watched Kagome's expression change. She had stopped talking and retired into her own thoughts. She went from excited to curious to amused and finally to full blown laughter. 'Humans' Sesshoumaru thought to himself. He would never understand the thoughts running through the miko's mind. He allowed his own mind to slip. He thought of how he was going to help Kagome with the transformation. Oyume had said it was very painful. She had also told him that it would take about 3 days for the transformation to complete itself. He would return to his time in the morning to start his castle healers working on a pain suppressant right away.

Before long they were pulling into the parking lot nearest the carnical. It was tradition to dress in Kimono's to go to a carnival and today had been no exception. Bushimeiyo and Sesshoumaru wore what they normally wear. Oyume dressed in a kimono she used to wear in the feudal era. It was sapphire blue with a silver obi. Her hair was placed up as well as she could get it with it's short length. Souta wore a traditional male kimono. It was mainly grey with brown patterns. He was not comfortable in it but Oyume quickly silenced his whining with a candy apple.

Kagome's kimono was radiant compared to the others. It had light pink cherry blossoms on a white background. It was made of a fine silk. Sesshoumaru had had it made for her by the seamstress who made his clothing. He had brought it with him, concealed under his kimono. He gave it to her as soon as they had a moment alone.

Flashback

"Oh, Sesshoumaru! It's Beautiful!" Kagome gently took the fine silks from his hands.

She raised to her feet and held it up against herself, spinning around the room as she watched it flutter in the air moving around it. She stopped spinning, a resilient smile gracing her lips. She placed the silk on the table and made her way to Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru watched in awe as she displayed such emotions over a piece of silk. He had hoped that it would cause this reaction in her. His breath caught in his throat when she smiled at him. Never in his life had he seen such beauty. Not even seeing a sunset over an ocean right before him could compare to this. He barely even registered when she set it down and made towards him.

Kagome knelt on the couch next to Sesshoumaru. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hugging him so hard he was barely allowed to breath.

"Thank you Koichii"

End Flashback

Kagome gracefully stepped out of the car and sped towards the carnical entrance. Her actions reminded Sesshoumaru of the way Rin normally behaved. He smirked at her child like innocence. He slowly but gracefully followed behind her, taking in the sights and smells. The smell of the air was a mixture of fumes from the cars, a sweet smell Sesshoumaru could not explain, and a strong smell of vomit. He assumed that it was that of someone who had been on the "ride" that was spinning next to him. As for the sights, the sun had set and there were many small colourful lights that blinked all around him.

Kagome turned back to see Sesshoumaru lost in his senses. She grinned as she ran to him. She playfully snaked her hand into his and began to run, dragging the unprotesting taiyoukai behind her.

"Come on!" She yelled back at him.

Kagome dragged Sesshoumaru to the games on the opposite side of the food stands. She pulled up next to a dart game. The point of the game was to pop the balloons with the darts to win prizes. She paid for 4 darts and passed 2 of them to Sesshoumaru.

"Ok, it's really not hard. Watch me." She said, turning from him. Her first dart hit a target and she squealed gleefully.

"Ok, now you try."

Sesshoumaru stared at her. He raised his arm and lazily tossed a dart, still looking at her. He popped one and Kagome pouted, exclaiming that he wasn't doing it right. She scolded him for not looking and threw her last dart in a huff. She nearly hit the man running the game, but popped a balloon behind him.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing those things!" He yelled.

Kagome realized what she had done. "OH! I'm so sorry! I didn't hurt you did I?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly. 'She cares for this man even though she has no idea who he is? She is definitely a unique one…' He was angry with the man for taking such a tone with his intended but her words had considerably changed where his attentions lay. With 12 words she had completely changed his emotions. No one had ever held this power over him before, though he would not change it for the world.

Sesshoumaru tossed his last dart and hit a small balloon in the top corner. They combined their winnings into a giant black teddy bear that was almost as tall as Kagome. Kagome struggled to hold it but she was beaming with joy. It was Sesshoumaru's last dart that had sealed the deal on the large bear.

The night was going well at the carnival. They were first in line for many rides. The scrambler was included in that long list. Sesshoumaru was not a fan of the scrambler. Though he would not admit it, it set his stomach against him. He nearly lost control over his stoic mask. Kagome screaming in his ear did not make it any easier.

Kagome sprawled away from the ride laughing. She was too dizzy to walk straight. She clutched Sesshoumaru's arm.

Once Kagome could stand straight she looked up to see Sesshoumaru's face. Though barely noticeable, he had a look of discomfort on his face. Kagome was about to ask when she saw his hand inch it's way towards his stomach.

"Nausea?" She asked, He just turned to her looking her in the eyes. He tried to force his eyes to convince her otherwise.

"I thought so. I got that the first time too. It'll pass soon." She said, patting his arm gently.

'Amazing….I attempt to hide my discomfort and yet she manages to see straight through my efforts…' Sesshoumaru thought.

Kagome led him back to the car to ditch the teddy bear for the moment. She tossed it in the back seat of the car and turned back to Sesshoumaru who had by this time shaken the nausea away. Kagome could not contain her smile. She was having an amazingly good time.

"Sess?" She asked.

"Yes?" He returned.

"You choose what we do next."

Sesshoumaru looked around. He saw the giant wheel she had spoken of earlier. He smirked. 'Perfect.' He turned to Kagome.

"We shall ride the tall wheel."

Kagome's smile widened even further. They had yet to ride the ferris wheel tonight. She nodded her head and walked to the rides entrance. There was a line but it passed quickly due to the number of people it could hold. They stepped into their enclosed carriage and sat on the same side. The wheel moved to allow the next set of passengers on. This continued until the wheel was filled with new passengers. Once it was full it began to spin, though much slower than the last ride they had been on. While they were at the higher point Kagome pointed out the different places in Tokyo that they could see. The wheel began to slow, forcing Kagome and Sesshoumaru to remain at the top.

'Now.' Sesshoumaru thought as he turned to face Kagome.

"Kagome." He said, getting her attention. "I have already asked you to become my mate, but I had not considered what you wanted. I love you and I will do anything for you." He was being far more caring than usual and Kagome was concerned. "Though I do not fully understand what this question will bring, I find it only fair that you should be asked. Kagome…"

Sesshoumaru bent down on one knee in their enclosed carriage. "Will you marry me?" He asked, showing her the ring.

Kagome's breath caught in her throat. She had hoped he would ask this but she never thought he would.

"Sesshoumaru…" She said, tears forming in her eyes.

Sesshoumaru was growing anxious at how long she was taking to answer he smelled her tears and immediately thought he had done it wrong but when he saw her smile, his fears were relieved.

"Oh Sesshoumaru…I will!" Kagome yelled, launching herself at him.

Sesshoumaru held her tightly until she let go. He pulled the ring from the box and gently placed it on her finger.

Kagome grinned and stuck her head out of the carriage to see her parents down below.

"Mom! Bushi!" She yelled, drawing their attention. "We're getting married!"


	27. Plans

Eri: Ok, I know, long wait. Again. It's not easy to write a story when you haven't got much inspiration. I'm writing when I get the inspiration that way I don't rush it and you guys get crappy chapters.

Disclaimer: I now own Inuyasha….haha, I wish. Nah, still don't own it.

**Chapter 27: Plans**

Sesshoumaru greeted the sun from Kagome's bed. He had been awake all night holding his beloved in his arms. He would have to part from her for a short while today. He needed to take care of the duties of his land and start the healers working on that pain reliever for Kagome. He looked down into her beautiful sleeping face. He could not leave her. Not while she wouldn't know where he was. He would wait until she roused from her slumber.

Her features were so peaceful. Kagome was completely at ease. Sesshoumaru felt as she snuggled closer. He held her tight to himself.

Kagome awoke to the feeling of someone squeezing her gently. She opened her eyes to see a hard chest. She grinned and brought her hand up and gently caressed to muscles. She felt a deep vibration rumble through his chest as he groaned. A clawed hand gently rested over her small hand, it's size engulfing hers.

"Kagome. We must rise. I must return to my lands for the day." Sesshoumaru said, stoic mask securely in place.

Kagome knew this meant that he was serious. She mumbled something about hating mornings, but rolled away from Sesshoumaru to the edge of the bed. She was comfortable in his arms and had wanted nothing more than to stay there all day. However there would be a lot to do today. First she had school, then she would begin to plan the wedding. Her mother had spoken with her after the carnival. Kagome was kind of panicked that she only had one week to plan a wedding. Now Sesshoumaru would not be there so she would need to make a lot of decisions alone.

Kagome crawled over to her dresser and pulled a yellow summer dress from one of the drawers She walked into her closet, changed, and came back out.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked, twirling for him.

"It is a shame that I shall not be able to assess it more closely." He said, voice displaying no emotions.

Kagome beamed at him. She had hoped he would like this dress. It reminded her of a sunflower. She reached up and gave him a gentle hug.

"Be careful."

"This Sesshoumaru has no need to be." He felt her disappointment and quickly added "but if it pleases you I shall." He breathed a sigh of relief at her smile, letting out a breath he did not know he was holding. Kagome gave him another quick hug and jumped down the well holding his hand. He jumped out with her in his arms. Sesshoumaru bent down and gave her a peck on the lips before turning and leaving her to jump back on her own.

Sesshoumaru hated to leave this way. He felt as though he was dishonoring her. She would have to begin planning the ceremony without him and no female should be forced to do such a thing. 'Kagome…I shall return to you before the day is through. I shall find a way through the well without you…You have my word…' He thought wishing with everything he had that somehow she would hear it.

'Kagome…I shall return to you before the day is through. I shall find a way through the well without you…You have my word…' was what Kagome heard in her head along with a strange warmth. Once the voice had ceased, the feeling did as well.

"What the heck was that!" She said aloud to herself before she smiled at the words the voice of said. It had been the voice of one tall silver haired man. She turned and hopped into the well. A bluish light surrounded the well and Kagome was gone from the feudal era.

Kagome was grateful for the rope ladder her mother had attached to the well. It made the climb up much easier for her. She pulled herself over the top of the well and sat on the edge. She looked down at the ring that Sesshoumaru had given her the night before. It was beautiful. She still could not believe he had asked her to marry him. She had come to accept that it would never happen but now she had less than a week to plan an entire wedding! She began to think about who she would invite. Her friends would definitely be invited. She knew it would be impossible to invite Sango and Miroku, but she would ask Sesshoumaru if they may be invited to the celebration of their mating in his castle. She frowned slightly at the thought of how Inuyasha would react.

"I hope he will come. He is my closest friend after all." She said to herself.

"Come to what?" A male voice from behind surprised her. She had wandered out of the well house without realizing it. She spun around to see Hojo standing there with a basket of oranges in his hands.

'Oh Kami, What illness has Ji-chan made up this time?' "Hi Hojo"

"I see you are feeling better. Pneumonia went away?" He asked her.

Kagome sweat dropped. "Uh…yea….no pneumonia for me…" She answered rubbing the back of her neck.

"Good to hear it. I brought you these oranges. They taste great and they're good for you too."

'Why does this seem so familiar?' She thought sarcastically as she thought back to Akitoki Hojo, Hojo's ancestor she had run into in the feudal era. She graciously accepted them when a thought occurred to her. She grinned evilly. 'I can finally get him off my tail once and for all!' She quickly spoke before Hojo had the chance to.

"Umm…Hojo….I was just wondering…..I'm getting married in 6 days and I wanted to know if you wanted to come…" She asked, smiling.

Hojo's jaw dropped.

"You're…you're getting…married? To who? And in such a short period of time!" He asked, heartbroken.

"Ya! Isn't it exciting!" She said, pretending to not see his pain. "His name is Sesshoumaru."

Kagome figured it would probably hurt him less if he assumed she didn't know he felt anything for her. So she played dumb. Well, perhaps not dumb, maybe more oblivious was the word.

Hojo feigned being happy for her. He couldn't believe the girl he'd been chasing for almost 4 years now was getting married. 'Why Kagome…' Hojo sunk lower into a hidden depression. 'Well, the least you can do is pretend to be happy for her. She's invited you to the wedding.'

"I'd love to come. Count me in." he said, "I have to go though. Mom's expecting me back at the shop. I'll talk to you later Higurashi-san."

'I'm sorry Hojo-kun, but I've never felt that way for you. Please forgive me.' Kagome thought apologetically.

Kagome made her way inside where no doubt her mother was waiting to help with the wedding arrangements. Kagome smiled at the thought. Sesshoumaru may not be there, but she still wouldn't be doing it alone. Her mother would be more than willing to help.

"Kagome dear!" Oyume yelled. "Would you come here please?"

Kagome wandered towards where her mothers voice had come from. She found her sitting in the kitchen with a woman she'd never seen before. She looked at her mother questioningly.

"This is Oyomori Mukosha, she is a seamstress. She wants to fit you for your wedding kimono."

Kagome squealed in delight and hugged her mother. This was the part of getting married that she had always dreamt about. Every little girl dreams of the beautiful white cloth. She bowed politely to the woman, who bowed in return.

"If you would mind, could you please raise your arms so that I may take your measurements?" Mukosha asked.

Kagome complied with her request and in no time the seamstress had left with Kagome's chosen design.

The rest of the day was spent driving around town handling small details. Kagome stopped by her friend's houses to invite them to the wedding. They ordered a cake. It was a three layer white cake, your typical wedding cake, the only hitch was the little groom figure on the cake. They had to order one specially made to look like Sesshoumaru.

Kagome and Oyume decided that Oyume would do the cooking. Booking a caterer had turned out to be very challenging so they decided against one. Oyume was a very good cook.

For the most part, all of the fine details had been dealt with. All that was left was to decorate the shrine, pick out the flowers, pick up her kimono and deal with Sesshy's attire, but they couldn't very well take care of that without him there. It was hard to fit a groom when the groom wasn't there. Kagome had invited the three girls they had run into at the mall the other day, Hojo and a few other classmates. They had all been quite shocked to hear that she was even engaged, let alone how soon the wedding was. Kagome had been glomped by almost all of the people she invited. All of the females were dying to meet the groom properly (as opposed to what happened at the mall) and they asked to see the ring many times.

Kagome was beyond exhaustion when she got home. It had been a very long day and without Sesshoumaru there it had been straining. Making all the choices without him was hard on her. She made her way up to the house. Each stair felt like it were a mile high.

Well, maybe not quite a mile. That would be pushing it, but they did seem steeper than usual. She trudged up the stairs. Once she reached the top, she rested for a breath, her mother doing the same. They gave each other a knowing look. They were about to proceed into the house when an extremely noticeable blue light surrounded the well house.

"It would seem that Sesshoumaru is back."

"Yea, and just in time too. As punctual as always. How did he get through the well without me?" Kagome said. She assumed that he got through the same way Inuyasha did and shrugged it off.

Sesshoumaru walked out of the well house as graciously as ever. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the blood on his torn clothing. Kagome gasped when she saw it, her eyes wide. She ran to him.

"Sesshoumaru! You're hurt!" She said with much worry evident in her voice.

"It is nothing." Sesshoumaru replied, his stoic expression hiding his pain.

Kagome frowned. She had heard Inuyasha say that many times in the past when he didn't want her to worry. She gently leaned him back against the well house wall. She removed his armour as best she could without hurting him. It revealed more blood stained cloth. She pulled the cloth away from the wound. He had a deep bleeding gash from his left shoulder to this middle of his chest.

"How did this happen?" She asked him.

"I happened upon my half breed brother." He growled out, disgusted at the thought of him. "I refrained from killing him for you, though I truly wished to tear him apart with my claws for the accusation he made."

"Arg." Kagome mumbled. "What accusation did the idiot make this time?"

"He saw that I was not in your presence and assumed I'd left you unprotected. He drew our father's fang on me."

Kagome nodded. She knew that Inuyasha could be a bit of a dimwit and that he tended to jump to conclusions without any evidence to back it up. She gently laid her hands on his wounds and began to heal it. She made quick work of it. Her powers had grown substantially since her 15th birthday. She felt slightly drained when she was done, but she still had enough strength to stand. She gently leaned into his now healed chest.

"Thanks for not killing him." She whispered as she nuzzled his chest.

Sesshoumaru had been amazed at how easily she had healed him this time. She seemed to be tired before she began so he had expected she would fall unconscious from the effort but instead she merely leaned into him and thanked him for not killing Inuyasha. He wrapped an arm around her and nuzzled his nose into her hair.

The two stayed that way for a good 10 minutes before Sesshoumaru broke them apart and guided Kagome into the house. He led her to the couch where they spent the rest of the day resting. Kagome ended up falling asleep on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. He carried her up to bed and the two spent the night resting there.

The rest of the week passed fairly quickly. Sesshoumaru was fitted in a traditional male kimono, the shrine was prepared and all the guests had been invited. The only difficult part had been convincing Inuyasha to come to the wedding, but Kagome threatened to sit him through the face of the earth and he grudgingly accepted. Kagome threatened that should he screw this up for her he would have to deal with a very pissed off miko AND a taiyoukai's wrath. All around the planning had gone off without a hitch.

Eri: Well, there we go. Sorry it took so long. I want to thank Nikephoros for her picture of Fluffy and Kagome. :D The option to draw for me IS STILL OPEN to anyone else who wishes to draw for me. :D come on people, I know you want to :D lol, well, review to let me know wut u think. The next chapter is the wedding, then the mating. :D


	28. SORRY! :

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!!!!  
I'm a bad person, I know. I left this story hanging for FAR too long. :( I shall update tonight

and all will be happy.

Sorry again, if you didn't notice the first 5 times. :P

EriTuure


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